Taichou, Heichou
by WeirdOTP
Summary: Toshiro is on a mission to Karakura but finds himself lost just as wall Maria is breached. Lucky thing Toshiro is a good little soldier. Features Levi/Toshiro. If you don't like spoilers, don't read. You have been warned.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys.**

**So this is my first fic so be kind. It features my new crack OTP of the two short captains! **

**Just so you guys know.**

_"Japanese"_

_'Thoughts'_

**_'Zanpakuto'_**

**_Enjoy! _**

* * *

"Eh. I don't think this is Karakura..."

Toshiro looked down from the huge wall he had ended up on. The smooth stone easily towered over everything in the old looking town below. There were cannons on the top of the wall that looked like they had been maintained and used recently. The town below looked deserted and had many crushed houses along with huge chunks of debris here and there.

"Definitely not Karakura." Toshiro concluded. He sighed and pulled out his denreishinki, his fingers swiftly punching in thenumber for the twelfth division. The device responded with a few beeps indicating there was no signal.

**_'The energy in this place is different. So much so that I can hardly identify the things I feel through you as human though I know that they are.'_**  
_'Ah, now that you mention it I can see the difference. Any ideas as to where we are?'_  
The dragon gave a low rumble and fell silent. Toshiro knew that meant he was puzzled and was analyzing the situation.

A new voice snapped the icy captain from his thoughts.  
"Hey! What are you doing up here kid!?"

Toshiro whipped around to see someone calling out further down the wall. A few more men joined him, flying up on the wall using the devices strapped to their hips. They seemed to be wielding blades attached to the devices and were all wearing some sort of uniform. Toshiro could tell that these were military personnel and judging by their looks, he wasn't supposed to be up here.  
In a flash, the small captain vanished from their sight and quickly descended to the ground.

_'So they can see me without a gigai. And it wasn't just one. I'll have to disguise myself as well as you Hyorinmaru.'_  
_**'You're asking me to seal myself and leave you defenseless in an unknown place?'**_ The dragon scoffed. **_'Very well.'_**  
'_If my kido won't work I can always unseal you.'_  
**_'True enough.'_**

The zanpakuto burst into millions of tiny white particles of light before reforming around Toshiro's wrist. The dragon's body wrapped around with the mouth and tail latching onto a circle with the four pointed flower in it's center. The bracelet was mostly silver with the exception of the flower which was a teal blue and shone like crystal.

After a good minute of admiring Hyorinmaru, Toshiro set out to find a change of clothes and possibly a shelter. As he walked down the streets though he noticed there were no people around anywhere. To confirm his suspicions he entered the nearest house noticing the door was still slightly ajar.

"Maybe there was an earthquake?" He muttered to himself, noting the items that were carelessly tossed around.  
There was still food set out on the table as if the family were in the middle of dinner when the crisis had struck. The chairs were tipped over and all of the windows had shattered.  
After a quick rummage through the house he managed to find a set of clothes that mostly fit as well as a bag to put his uniform in. He tossed on the slightly over-sized, red, wool shirt and tight fitting, itchy, black pants. He kept his tabi socks and sandals on, the pants just reaching his ankles.

Flinging the bag over his shoulder he headed towards the front door again and pulled it open. His eyes widened and the small captain froze.  
There was a giant, smiling, face in the doorway.

Toshiro flash stepped away just in time to avoid the giant fist that came crashing down into the house.  
_'Hyorinmaru! What is that thing!?'_  
_**'I don't know, little one. But it seems very intent on trying to catch you.'**_

The naked, genderless giant lumbered after Toshiro who was gaining more and more distance. It seemed to lose interest though and headed off in a different direction. Toshiro took the chance to sneak in between some houses to catch his breath and calm his racing heart. That giant was _really fucking scary_. Hollows were no problems as he at least knew what they were. But that grin, that just got to you.

Curious, Toshiro climbed up to the roof of one of the houses and scanned the area again.  
There were dozens of these giants all heading towards the same area in the town. Pillars of smoke rose up from the felled bodies of the giants as the bodies burned away on their own.

_'At least now I have clothes to fit in when I find a normal town.'_  
**_'That's only if there is a normal town you can go to.'_**  
_'That gear looks useful though. That way I can get around without needing to draw suspicion to myself. Though chances are it's only given to those in the military.'_

He looked back towards the walls and saw the huge gate. People were scrambling towards the giant boats that were passing through, trying to get away from the giants that were closing in on them.  
Suddenly he was jerked forward and flying through the air.  
"What do you think you're doing kid!? We need to evacuate! You're lucky I grabbed you or you'd be titan food."  
Toshiro looked up at the man that was carrying him.  
"Titans? That's what those things are?" Toshiro asked, glancing back at the hordes of lumbering giants.  
"Che, of course. Did you live under a rock all your life or something?"

The two landed close to a boat and the man shoved Toshiro on. The small captain was quickly pushed in further by the mob of fearful townspeople while the military man in charge threw all personal belongings over board. Being observant as he was Toshiro managed to sneak his bag under his shirt, though he now looked like he was overweight. He wrapped his scarf back around his neck to help thin out some of the bulk in the bag.

A little ways away he could hear a kid muttering about wanting to kill all of the titans. He looked like he had just been crying a river.  
_**'He must have lost someone dear to him.'**_  
_'I doubt there's a single person on this ship that hasn't lost something precious.'_  
_'__**Those things would be of no match to us.'**_  
_'It is not our job to interfere. Not as a shinigami anyways.'_  
**_'I take it you are joining the military.'_**  
_'If they accept me. Chances are I will find out everything I need to know there. And at the rate those soldiers are dying I'd say they'd take anyone they can.'_  
Toshiro closed his eyes and blocked out the noise. Right now all he wanted was to be back in his office with a nice cup of green tea.  
_'I'm going to kill Matsumoto for volunteering me for that mission to Karakura when I get back.'_

**_-line break-_**

Several weeks had passed since Toshiro's entry to the strange, titan filled land. He ended up in wall Rose along with thousands of other refugees. Right now though he was standing in the middle of a ring facing a military member with spectators all around them.

Why?  
Because the military man laughed in his face when he had said he wanted to join the military. So Toshiro has struck a deal. If he could beat him in a one on one spar then the man would personally bring him to training camp. If he didn't then he would be the man's personal servant all week.

The small captain smirked. The man had no idea what he was really up against.  
Toshiro quickly sidestepped another attack while dealing his own counterattack to the military man. This went on for several minutes until finally Toshiro had enough. With a quick roundhouse to the side he sent the man toppling over before pinning him to the ground.

"Yield or the arm breaks." He whispered in the man's ear.  
"I yield! I yield!" The man cried out quickly.  
The crowd cheered behind him. Some of them because they had just won a lot of cash. The rest were just common folk who were fed up with the military and wanted to see them beat down a little.  
"Where did you learn to fight like that, kid?" The man asked.  
"I picked a few things up here and there. And I'm not 'Kid'. My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya. I'd prefer if you call me Hitsugaya. Now if you don't mind, I would like to be shown to the military camp."

**_-line break-_**

_5 years later..._

"Hitsugaya! Commander Erwin wants to see you."

Toshiro nodded in acknowledgement and rose from the table. He offered the rest of his food to Milo Jargen, one of the soldiers he bunked with. He was a pleasent fellow who came from a smaller town and joined the survey corps in memory of his father. Milo gave Toshiro a worried look before helping himself to the others plate.

He followed Tolsen Yordevitch, a cocky soldier who enjoyed bossing others around. Toshiro often ended up being challenged to spars during training with the guy. He was ranked number eight in Toshiro's graduating class while Toshiro was ranked first.

Tolsen didn't enter with him when they finally reached Erwin's office. But Toshiro wasn't the only one present at the time. There were five others in the room aside from Erwin with the shortest (though taller than Toshiro) standing facing the rest of them.

"Now that you are all here I would like to introduce you to your new squad member." Erwin nodded. "This is Toshiro Hitsugaya. He will be joining your squad and assisting in your new mission."

Erwin then turned to Toshiro and held his hand towards the shortest member of the group. "This is Levi. He will be leading the Special Operations Squad that you have been chosen to be in."

Of course he had already known who Levi was after hearing the stories and seeing the man around headquarters. Usually it would be comments about how Toshiro was even shorter than Levi Heichou.

"We will be heading out to a new location tomorrow morning. Our task is to protect Eren Jaeger and if necessary, eliminate him. I assume you have all heard the news of our fellow titan-shifting soldier." Levi said, his eyes lingering on Toshiro. "I expect to see you all at the stables an hour before training starts. You're dismissed."

The five left the room leaving only Levi and Erwin in the room.  
"That boy doesn't even look old enough to be in the military, let alone in this squad. He better live up to your description." Levi said, turning back to face Erwin.

"He's a lot like you. You won't be disappointed." Erwin smiled. "I've seen the boy in combat several times. The only reason he hasn't been promoted is because he looks so young. No one takes him seriously."

Outside the room Petra was taking care of the introductions. "My name is Petra Ral, to my left is Eld Jinn, and to my right is Gunther Schultz. The guy behind me nursing his tongue at the moment is Oluo Bozado."

Toshiro nodded. "My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya. I would appreciate it if you would address me as Hitsugaya. Thank you for the introduction Miss Ral."

"Well if we're going to be a team then it would be best to at least know each others names. I know I've seen you around plenty of times but I never worked with you before." Petra smiled.

"I did though." Eld smirked. "You're pretty good for a short guy. Not that being short is bad but I expected you to blow over in a strong gust of wind you're so small. You sure surprised me. The little squirt killed a 15 meter class all on his own as well as several other titans on the expedition we did a while back."

Toshiro's eye twitched a little at being called a squirt. He was thankful Matsumoto wasn't around to see this.

"Wow! I guess that's why they put you in with us." Petra said, ruffling his hair.

Toshiro swatted the hand away lightly while Oluo spoke up from behind them.  
"It's not that impressive. That shitty brat still has a lot to learn. Maybe when we get the time at the new headquarters I'll show you some real techni-AUGHBFLTH!"

"That's twice now in less than twenty minutes. And stop trying to imitate Levi-Heicho. You're just making yourself sound stupid." Petra chastised.

"I'm going to head back to my room. I need to check over my gear and supplies for tomorrow. Thank you Miss Petra." Toshiro said with a slight bow before he left.

"See you tomorrow morning Hitsugaya!" She said, giving a small wave.

Toshiro headed back towards his room but at the last moment turned and hopped out the nearest window. He was already on the top floor so he didn't have far to climb to reach the roof. He liked to sleep up here whenever the sky was clear. It was much cooler outdoors and didn't have three other guys snoring all night.

The sun had just finished setting and Toshiro could see the faint stars that littered the sky. He could almost pretend he was back home despite the foreign reiatsu around him. He still had no luck accessing a senkaimon and his pager still had no signal. He was starting to worry that he might not ever get home. There weren't even any souls wandering around that he could talk to.  
He ran his fingers along Hyorinmaru with a small sigh. At least he had his most trusted friend with him in this world. And with that final thought in his head the small captain finally drifted off to sleep.

**_-line break-_**

The next morning Toshiro headed down to the stables to ready his horse. There didn't seem to be anyone else there yet which he was somewhat thankful for. He liked being able to work in silence.

He picked his gear off the hook and opened the door to his stall.  
"Ohayo, Frost."

The large white horse whinnied happily at the sight of his owner and nudged his head against the captain. Toshiro was nearly knocked over by the large equine that towered over him.

Frost was only two years old. His dam used to wander over to where Toshiro trained and watch him through the fence. Toshiro would sneak her oats and little treats before heading off in the woods to train. But when she gave birth to Frost her demeanor changed.  
To everyone's surprise she gave the newborn a hard kick and ran off without him.

No one had any idea as to why until the little foal finally stood up and wobbled over to Toshiro, bumping heads with his fellow white haired human. Toshiro then realized that while he was training his reiatsu not only affected the environment, but also the development of the foal that had hung around everyday.

This was why shinigami were not allowed to interact with the living world and it's inhabitants. Now this horse had a small reserve of spiritual energy that had bonded with Toshiro.

Dita Ness commented on how the foal wouldn't survive without a mother and moved to put a tiny harness on the foal. The little guy snorted at Ness and ran away at each attempt.

"Allow me to try." Toshiro offered, taking the harness from Ness after the umpteenth try.

The next time the foal came up to him, Toshiro slipped the harness on with ease. "I guess he just doesn't like you."

"Or maybe he only likes you. You can have him if you want but you'll have to care for him and pay for all his necessities. The guy probably won't co-operate with us anyways and you still need a horse. Most recruits don't have personal horses this early on but we can make an exception this one time."

"Don't you have a personal horse?" Toshiro asked him.

"Like I said, most guys. Shallot is my baby even though she likes to eat my hair." He smiled.

"I can try. You'll have to teach me how to train him though. I've never had a horse before, unless it was loaned to me for an expidition."  
Needless to say it was a lot of hard work and very costly to buy the milk the foal needed to survive. Toshiro found himself broke most of the time and ran a few errands here and there to keep up with the costs. But the effort all paid off in the end. Frost was the most loyal horse he had ever seen. Toshiro swore that he was also the biggest, healthiest horse.

When no one was looking he would often run in the fields with Frost, using shunpo too keep up with the animal. He found it was good training for both him and the horse.

"We're moving today. You better behave." Toshiro warned the large horse as he brushed his coat and picked the dirt clogged in his hooves.

The horse grunted in response and nudged Toshiro's shoulder roughly.  
"Oi! Stop that. I need to get all this dirt off you. I don't even know how you manage to get so filthy."

By the time the others arrived Toshiro had already finished grooming Frost and was making the final adjustments to the saddle. He left the stable after greeting the others and mounted his horse with a grace that only came from lots of practice.

Down the path he could see two figures on horseback heading towards the stables. Toshiro called out to Petra to let her know someone was coming.

"That must be Heicho! He went to go get Eren earlier." Petra answered, mounting her horse and moving next to Toshiro.  
Oluo, Eld, and Gunther joined them after a couple of minutes.

Levi nodded at the group. "Good to see that you're all ready in time. Lets head out. I want to be there before everyone rises for training."

Levi went on ahead with Petra and Oluo close behind. Eren went slightly after them along with Toshiro and Gunther while Eld stayed in back.

The ride was a silent one apart from Oluo trying to intimidate Eren and biting his tongue again. Eren was a little startled by the display but was put back at ease thanks to Petra.

When the castle finally came into view Toshiro nearly cringed at the state it was in. They followed Levi to the stables and took care of the horses, Levi handing his to Petra and leaving to go check out the castle.

Once the horses were all taken care of the squad gathered out front. Petra was chastising Oluo again while Eld and Gunther commented on the state of the place. Eren stood to the side quietly as he observed all the the members.

"Are you nervous?" Toshiro asked him, startling the younger soldier.

"No! Not at all. Just...thinking." Eren replied. "I know all their names but I don't know yours. I guess you know mine already though."

"Eren Jaeger. Yes, I've heard. Though I suppose that's not a bad thing considering we are responsible for your well being. My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya. I would prefer it if you addressed me as Hitsugaya."

"Fine, but only if you call me Eren." He smiled.

Toshiro gave a small smile in return. The boy's lightened mood seemed to be contagious.

Levi approached the group and looked at the castle with disgust. "We're cleaning up the castle. Everyone get to work. I want the place spotless by the time we're done. Jaeger, you're in charge of the upper floor. Eld and Gunther, I want you cleaning the walls. Petra and Oluo, you are going to do the middle floor while Hitsugaya cleans the basement."

_'We're even cleaning the dungeons? How much of a clean freak is this guy?'_  
**_'You're almost just as bad, little one.'_**

Everyone scurried off to their designated area, collecting the cleaning supplies Levi had put out for them on the way.  
To say the dungeons were filthy would be an extreme understatement. The place looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries. Toshiro could have sworn he saw some of the dirt move on its own.

_'I wonder if I can blast the grime away with kido.'_

It wasn't until evening did Toshiro finally finish cleaning the entire dungeon on his own. The white cloth he had tied around his hair and face was now a dirty brown. He could feel the dust caked onto his fingers and clothes.

"There's a shower room upstairs. I suggest you take one before coming to dinner."  
Toshiro turned around to see Levi standing behind him.

"You did a good job though, better than that Jaeger brat. He had to redo his whole floor." Levi said, staring at the shorter. "I have to say, it's nice to be able to talk to someone without having to look up." He smirked.

Toshiro managed to hold a straight face as he listened to his superior talk. "Well then if you'd excuse me, I will go up and get ready for dinner." He replied with a curt bow.

It turns out that he wasn't the only one told to go get a shower. He was suddenly jealous of Petra for being able to shower by herself as he saw the four other guys in the room. At least when he was back at the old HQ he could wait until the others had left. This time he had to take one now or face the wrath of Levi. He could feel the stares of the others as soon as he stepped under the shower head. He knew they were eying his scars. Most likely they were staring at the long one that ran down his left side where Aizen had sliced through him.

He knew that they knew those scars weren't from titans. You didn't get scars from titans, you got missing limbs. Thankfully none of them asked about the scars. Even Oluo stayed quiet about it.

Toshiro finished showering in record time and pulled on his other clean uniform minus the jacket. He could hear the other guys starting to chat with each other again. Oh, so they waited until he was out of the room before they talked about his scars, how considerate.

Levi and Petra were already at the table and halfway through their dinners by the time he had arrived, with the rest of the guys showing up a few minutes later. No one missed the looks of pity they gave Toshiro as they sat at the table.

"Did we miss something?" Levi asked the group, Petra watching out of curiosity.

"It's nothing." Toshiro answered for them.

"What, did you come onto them in the shower and they rejected you or something?" Levi asked, calmly sipping his tea.

Toshiro nearly choked on his meal and glared red-faced at the man. "No, those four idiots are just making assumptions about my past and are pitying me because of their own foolish beliefs."

"The brat looks like his entire left side sliced off!" Oluo exclaimed. "How are you even still alive!?"

The other three nodded in agreement while Levi raised his brow in interest. Petra looked horrified at the thought.

"Hitsugaya, take off your shirt." Levi ordered.

"Heicho, I don't think that it's necessary..." Petra started.

"Take it off before I take it off for you. You caught my interest and now I want to see." Levi said, cutting Petra off.

Toshiro glared at the man again before standing up and undoing his shirt. His face turned a slight shade of pink as his eyes met Levi's but he managed to suppress it quickly. He shrugged the left sleeve off and turned so they could see the scar.

"Turn around." Levi ordered again.

Toshiro did so and Levi examined the scar. Petra looked at it with interest as well, though she did look quite horrified still.

"So how did you survive this? A normal person would be dead, and according to the observations on Eren a titan-shifter wouldn't bear a scar."

Toshiro put his shirt back on and shrugged. "I was lucky enough to be close to a good doctor. I heal quickly it seems."

There was a heavy silence that seemed to drag on forever until Eld cleared his throat and drew all attention to him.

"Well now that that's settled, I heard there's going to be a large expedition soon. I also heard the new recruits are going to be joining us." Eld said.

"So soon? Not to mention they're only just recovering from the last titan attack. Most of them are probably in shock." Gunther said, crossing his arms.

"Is this true Heicho?" Petra asked, everyone turning to look at Levi.

"Erwin is the one to make the call, not me. He always thinks a few steps ahead than any of us." Levi told her.

Toshiro collected the empty plates and placed them to one side as the rest continued their conversation. This time it was focused on Eren and his titan transformation. He could hear footsteps outside the door and turned his attention to the entrance instead, curious to see who came in.

"Good evening Levi's squad!"

Toshiro's eyes widened a little at the woman. "Hanji? What are you doing here?"

"Eh? Toshiro's in your squad too Levi? Why didn't you tell me!?" Hanji said, going over and ruffling Toshiro's hair much to his dislike.

"I didn't know you knew the brat."

"Of course I know him. He did his first expidition under my command!" Hanji said, puffing her chest proudly. "He performed spectacullarly. He even helped capture one of the titans we had previously."

"Anyone could have done that. I was merely following orders." Toshiro mumbled.

"And he loves learning about titans too. I could talk to him all night about titans and he'd just soak it up like a sponge." She added before walking over to where Eren was.

"So you like learning about titans do you?" Eld chuckled, nudging the icy captain.

"It was one time." He growled. "She just didn't stop. Like she's going to do now." He pointed out after hearing Eren ask about the experiments. He rose from the table and left the room with the others, leaving Eren alone with the crazy woman.

* * *

**Lemme know what you guys think. I really need work on my writing so constructive crit is much appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Second Chapter! Woo!**

**And to Runa22694: I know right? I wanted to see him in a fanfic so bad but I couldn't find any. So I made my own. :D**

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Toshiro was waiting for the new recruits with the rest of the squad. They had heard the news about Hanji's test subjects that morning and now they had to wait until inspections were done before the new recruits could join.

Eren seemed to be anxious to see them, most likely because his friends would be there.

"Here they come!" Eld pointed out as they passed by on their tour.

Mikasa and Armin were quick to spot Eren and Eld nudged the boy towards them. "It's fine, go join them." He told Eren.  
The man watched Eren interact with his friends for a bit before he noticed something odd. "Hey, there's two new recruits heading this way."

Toshiro had just seconds to glance at the blobs that were flying towards him at high speed.

"TAIIICHOOOOOUUU!"

Toshiro was tackled to the ground from the force of the hug. He looked up in shock at the person hugging him.

"Matsumoto?"

"_Taichou I missed you so much! I was soworriedwhenyoudissapearedfordaysanthen Uraharahelpedusgethereandwegotstuckandjoinedthemilitarycausewethoughtyoumightbehereandwedon'tknowhow togetbackandnowwe'restucktoo!"_ She said speaking rapidly in japanese.

_"Matsumoto, they speak English here. Keep your voice down."_Toshiro told her. _"And what do you mean for days? I've been here for five years now."_

_"Ah, right. Urahara told us there was a time difference here. A year is roughly the equivalent of two days back home. Nice to see you alive by the way Toshiro."_ Ichigo smirked.

_"It's Hitsugaya-taicho to you, Kurosaki."_ Toshiro snapped. "_How are you two planning on getting back?"_  
_"Well Urahara sent us here with a little device that would make it easier for him to locate us when he finally builds the gate. It keeps Karakura time too. Nifty little thing."_ He said, pulling out a little chappy keychain. The rabbit was holding onto a small watch that seemed to tick every few minutes.

"Friends of yours, Hitsugaya?" Eld asked him, helping him up off the ground. "And what a fine looking friend I might add."

Matsumoto had already gotten up and was brushing the dirt off her uniform. She smiled at the comment and introduced herself. "I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, Toshiro's lieu- I mean, friend. And this is Ichigo Kurosaki, my cousin."

"Nice to meet you Miss Matsumoto. My name is Eld Jinn. The guy next to me is Gunther Schultz."

"So is Toshiro making friends, or is he still as grumpy as ever?" Ichigo asked the two with a grin.

"Shouldn't you two be joining the group? They've already left you behind." Toshiro hissed at the two. "We'll talk later."

"Hai, taichou." Matsumoto saluted before dragging Ichigo back over with the group.

They watched them run off for a bit and then turned to head back inside the castle.

"Why does she call you taicho?" Eld asked him.

Toshiro shrugged. "It's a nickname she came up with for me a long time ago."

The three had just made it in through the door when they were stopped by Levi. "Oi, you two make yourself useful and clean the yard. Hitsugaya, you're in charge of cleaning the stables." Levi ordered.

Toshiro nodded and headed back out the door. He always seemed to be getting stuck with the worst tasks. He was starting to think Levi hated him.

'_Urahara better hurry up with that gate.'_ Toshiro thought to himself angrily.

**-LINEBREAK-**

Matsumoto and Ichigo met up with Toshiro later that evening in the upper hall. Toshiro did a quick check to make sure no one was following them.

_"Tell me everything since you arrived here."_ Toshiro ordered once he was sure the coast was clear.

_"Well, Ichigo and I travelled through the altered senkaimon where you were last seen. It took Urahara and Tessai to keep the gate open long enough for us both to slip through. When we landed we found ourselves in a deserted town with all these giants walking around!"_ Matsumoto pointed at the pin on her left breast. _"I used Haineko on them but they kept coming after us no matter what we did. It was only when we cut the back of their neck did they finally die. We figured if they could see us then humans probably could too. We raided a house and stole some ugly clothes and looked around for any clues as to where we were."_

Ichigo raised his hand and showed him the black ring. _"We sealed our zanpakuto into a less noticable form. I didn't even know you could activly do that until Rangiku showed me."_ He said, glancing over towards her. _"After a few weeks of wandering around we finally found another town behind a massive wall. There were a few military guys who came down and asked how we were still alive. Then Ran gave them a big sob story about how our whole family was dead and yadda yadda. They guy took pity on us and helped us into the town."_

_"But we still had no idea where you were and there were so many strange reiatsus all over the place."_ Matsumoto continued. _"We figured you would have likely joined the military to find out as much as you could. We enrolled into the training camp and graduated with the 104th class. When we were defending Trost I finally felt your presence for the first time. Since it happened as the Survey corps came back I put two and two together and figured out where you were."_

_"You did well in finding me. Thank you Matsumoto."_ Toshiro said, giving her a small smile. _"I was beginning to think I would never be able to leave this place. That I would never see you guys again."_ He whispered.

"Taichou..." Matsumoto pulled the small captain into a tight embrace. "You feel a little smaller, have you been eating well? Or is it stress?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine Matsumoto. I've actually grown a little since you last saw me." Toshiro reassured her.

"Only an inch by the looks of it." Ichigo snorted.

"Shut it Kurosaki!"

"Have they been treating you well?" Matsumoto asked him.

Toshiro sighed. He knew what she was getting at. "No one takes me seriously now that I have no rank. There's a few people that know that I'm a skilled soldier but other than that no one is willing to even try. I'm pretty sure Levi hates me too."

_"Nothing gets by Levi and Erwin, and I mean it."_ Matsumoto sighed. _"You should see the looks they gave us when we came back after talking to you."_

"_Levi suspects something. I can tell by the way he looks at me. He made me show him my scar after the others commented about it."_ Toshiro nodded.

_"Well a regular person would have died. I can see why he would be so suspicious, especially with the recent events."_ Ichigo added.

"_True. We'll have to be careful around those two. Even if it's another world we can't have them know of our existance. We can't be talking like this all the time either. Nothing says 'I'm suspicious' better than switching between languages."_ Toshiro told the two. "Now you should get to bed. Training starts early tomorrow morning."

"Eh? Ordering us around now Toshiro?" Ichigo chuckled. He stopped quickly as another hand clasped onto his shoulder.

"He's right you know. You need the information drilled into your heads for that expidition." Eld said from behind him. "By the way, squad Levi will be doing extra training tomorrow morning so be sure to wake up extra early." He said to Toshiro. "Have a good night guys." He waved as he walked off.

"You heard him coming, didn't you?" Ichigo mumbled.

"Of course. I'm also familiar with his reiatsu, as strange as it is." Toshiro smirked. "Good night Matsumoto, Kurosaki."

"Night Taicho!" Matsumoto called out as she dragged Ichigo down the hall.

**-LINEBREAK-**

_1 month later..._

The expedition team raced through the open gates with the defense team flanking on all sides.

With a wide sweeping motion of his arm, Erwin ordered everyone into the long range scouting position once they had cleared the town.  
Toshiro watched as Matsumoto and Ichigo parted off to his left, his lieutenant giving him a smile and a wave before disappearing.  
Toshiro was following behind Levi's squad, his horse easily keeping up with the fast pace. He almost seemed to be enjoying it.

There were no titans to be seen from their position but Toshiro knew it was likely a different story on the outer lines.

They changed directions several times and just a little ways into the mission a messenger came up and announced the wipeout of the right flank. Petra carried the message over as more flares went up to the right, announcing the deviant titan activity.

"If we keep going this way we're going to end up in the forest." Eld noted.

"That will give us the advantage to those titans." Gunther nodded. "I can see the forest from here."

Petra came back and rode by Levi. "Commander says the central line is to enter the forest."

Levi nodded and Petra fell back in formation as the trees came into view. Toshiro looked behind to the right, hoping to see what the commotion was. It was very faint but he could make out the large titan that was heading towards them at an alarming pace. His view was soon blocked as they entered the forest.

As they ventured further in Toshiro could feel the ground shake as the titan got closer and closer. He could hear the screams as the soldiers died behind them while his own team begged Levi to switch to the 3DMG but received no response. There was something Levi knew that they didn't.

"Everyone plug your ears." Levi ordered, sending a sound grenade back at the female titan. "Our orders were to protect this brat and keep him form getting even a scratch on him, even if it costs us our lives."

Behind them another soldier died as Toshiro gritted his teeth. He knew he had to follow orders and continued to ride on even as Eren continued to shout desperately for his fallen comrades.

He could see Eren's hand rising as he debated whether or not to go titan and fight. Petra pleasing for him to trust the squad and Heichou. He could tell Eren was thinking back to training. The time that he finally learned to trust the squad. The 'spoon incident' as Hanji called it.

He could hear the soldier die behind him just as Eren declared his intention to continue on. He could feel his heart beat faster in his chest as the titan sped up, now hot on their heels. Levi ordered them to continue on, full speed ahead. Frost was eager to pass the others but Toshiro knew he had to stay behind Eren. His mission was to protect the titan-shifter, not run away.

Just as the titan was upon them, as she was reaching for Eren with her outstretched hand he heard the command.

The blasts were deafening as the wires shot out with their pointed steel tips, digging into the flesh of the titan and stopping her in her tracks. Toshiro looked back and saw her completely bound by the steel wires.

"Continue on and hide Eren. Tether the horses and switch to the 3d Maneuver gear. I'm leaving Eld in charge. Take care of my horse as well." Levi said before flying up into the tree with Erwin.

Toshiro nodded and took the stray horse along with him until they found a suitable place to rest. By the time he had finished tethering the horses he could already hear the others debating the trust issue.

He had nothing to contribute to the group. He only listened in so he could analyze the information on his own should he need it. He had to deal with enough betrayals in his lifetime already.

What seemed to be like a howl rang out through the forest and all discussion ceased momentarily.

"Thinks that's the titan?" Eren asked.

"Of course it's the titan. They're probably slicing her out right now." Oluo said, as if it were obvious.

Toshiro's brow furrowed. He could sense a large mass of reiatsu gathering in that area. Something wasn't quite right. "We should stay on guard. There could be many titans in the forest." He warned.

Gunther nodded in agreement and moved to another tree to get a better view of the area.

"Look! There's the signal to return. Let's go back to where the horses are." Petra smiled as she pointed above the trees at the colored smoke.

"You think they got the titan?" Eren asked with excitement.

"Why else would we be going back. Let's hurry, I want to see the ugly face of that shitty titan-shifter!" Oluo laughed.

"It's thanks to you Eren. For trusting in us." Petra smiled at the boy.

"What? He was just panicking the entire time! He doesn't deserve any praise!" Oluo shouted.

"Well if I recall correctly you two both pissed your pants the first time you saw a titan." Eld smirked.

Toshiro made a face and continued on as Eren looked at the two incredulously.

"Guys! Now is not the time! We're still in titan territory! Look, that must be a signal from Heichou. We're going to meet up with him."Gunther said, sending off one of his own flares. Toshiro followed along until they saw the other soldier.

"Levi-heichou!" Gunther called out, heading towards him. There was something weird about the figure but by the time Toshiro realized it, it was too late.

"Gunther! Wait!" Toshiro called out. That person wasn't Levi.

"Huh? That's not him." Gunther realised as the person turned around abruptly

No one even had time to react as he was sliced by the thin, titan-killing blades.

"Gunther!" Eren called out, heading over towards his fallen teammate. Oluo grabbed him by the back of the neck and dragged him away from the hanging body. "Don't stop Eren!" He cried out.

"Who was that!?" Petra screamed out. "They're using 3D maneuver gear!"

"Protect Eren!" Eld ordered. "Forget the horses! We need to get back to our comrades!"

There was a familiar flash and Eld gritted his teeth. "So it was her. Toshiro! Get Eren to safety!"

Toshiro nodded and grabbed the taller boy with ease. Eren screamed in protest. "No! I'm going to fight this time!"

"What was that brat!? Are you saying you don't believe in us?" Oluo asked.

Petra looked back at him with burning eyes. "Trust us Eren. We can't afford to lose you too!"

Eren fell silent and nodded at them from Toshiro's shoulder. "Let me go. I'll follow you."  
Toshiro nodded and threw him in the air. Eren shot out his gear and continued alongside Toshiro. "Don't look back." The captain ordered him.

"What?"

"Don't doubt your teammates. Don't look back." He said again. But in reality Toshiro knew they were all going to die. He felt Eld's presence disappear a few seconds ago and grimly kept looking forward.

Then it was Petra.

Then Oluo.

"Keep going forward. Don't look back." Toshiro said once more before stopping in his advance.

"What are you doing!?" Eren shouted out to him.

"The others have failed. I still need to continue this mission. Now get out of here so I can do it!" Toshiro ordered as he leaped towards the female titan.

He ducked under her hand as she made a grab for him and changed course with a shunpo. Spinning, he sliced across the tendons in her legs, causing her to fall to the ground. She swung at him with a fist, narrowly missing the captain as he used her arm to run up and slice one of her eyes while dodging the giant teeth. He was about to go in for the other eye when he saw Eren move his hand up towards his mouth in the corner of his vision.

"Eren! Don't!" He yelled out.

That moment of distraction was all the titan needed to smack the small taichou out of the air and far into the forest.

Toshiro's vision failed for a moment as he smacked hard into a tree. He didn't feel like he was falling strangely enough, but there was a growing wetness in his visceral area. With a groan he looked down to see a thick branch coming out from just below his ribs.

"Dammit." He could sense Eren fighting the female titan as well as two more figures approaching him.

He didn't know how much time had passed while he tried to focus on what was happening. Once he regained his vision Eren and the two that had come to rescue him were gone.

Gathering energy at his feet, Toshiro pushed himself off the branch slowly. He stood there in midair for a while before shunpoing off onto another tree limb. He filled the gaping wound with a chunk of ice so he wouldn't bleed out before he could get help.

_'Time to kill a titan my friend.'_

"Soten ni zase, Hyorinmaru!" He called out, summoning the sword. But he didn't stop there.

"Bankai, Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"

Dark clouds formed overhead and the temperature around him dropped drastically. There were no more soldiers in the forest, only him and the titan.

**-LINEBREAK-**

"The weather just turned a 180. We're going to have to head back if we don't want to get caught in it." Levi said as he laid Eren in a cart, Mikasa watching carefully.

"We're still collecting the bodies around the area. We'll depart shortly." Erwin nodded.

Levi got back up on his horse, wanting to avoid walking on his injured leg as much as possible. Toshiro's horse stood by his, snorting and pawing at the ground. Levi noticed his breath started to come out in white puffs as the temperature dropped even further.

He watched his own breath swirl in the air and mix with a tiny white flake that descended from the sky. More seemed to follow the first flake, though they all melted away once they hit the ground.

"It's snowing? At this time of year?" He muttered.

He noticed the other soldiers were also confused, holding their hands out to catch the white flakes of snow. One of the soldiers pushed past the rest. It was Connie Springer.

"Commander! Ichigo and Rangiku have gone back into the forest!" He announced with wide eyes. "I tried to get them to come back but there were so many titans in the woods! I couldn't go in!"

Erwin's expression darkened at the news. "It's a good thing you stayed away from the forest. We don't need to lose anymore soldiers. Most likely they were going to try and find Hitsugaya's body."

"What are we going to do?" Levi asked, though he already knew the answer.

"We're setting out in five minutes. Let the rest of the men know, Springer. I'm not losing any more soldiers today." Erwin commanded.  
Connie nodded shakily before heading off to spread the news.

The rest of the survivors mounted their horses, glad to be returning home. The snow had stopped as quickly as it came and the sky was lightening up again. Levi turned to grab Frost's reins only to find the white horse had gone missing.

"Damn. Where's that stupid horse gone now?" Levi muttered.

He glanced around but saw no sign of the beast. He had no choice but to abandon him too as the group started on the way home. They soon enough they made it back to the walls, and Eren happened to choose then to wake up. He heard the sneers and saw the cold dead eyes of the soldiers staring straight ahead as they passed through the crowds.

"Mikasa... the female type?" He asked quietly.

"She got away." Mikasa replied solemnly.

The gate behind them closed slowly, the creaks and groans that came from it masked by the booing crowds around the scouting legion. Eren could hardly even hear the commands shouted by the crew manning the gate over the noise.

"Don't shut it yet! I see three more coming!"

The titan-shifter looked back in confusion. Everyone should have been inside by now, right?

Hanji noticed Eren confused expression and looked back as well, her eyes widening at what she saw. There were two people riding with one holding onto another while a fourth person was tied to Frost's back, obviously unconscious.

"Erwin! Levi! It's Toshiro and his friends!" She yelled out, turning her horse around and making her way towards the group. She couldn't tell who was on the horses yet but she hoped they were all alive and well at the very least.

The two greeted her with worried expressions, Ichigo clinging onto an unconscious Toshiro. Blood was still slowly staining the bandage though Ichigo had wrapped it up to the best of his ability. Rangiku had tried to heal him earlier in the field but couldn't manage more than repairing the damaged organs.

"We need a doctor!" Hanji ordered.

A few soldiers rushed over and gently took Toshiro from Ichigo's arms, after a bit of reassurance, and brought him over to a doctor that had stepped forward from the crowd.

"What happened to you guys? And who is that on Toshiro's horse?" Hanji questionned.

"Toshiro managed to find what we lost." Rangiku answered, not wanting to reveal it was the female titan in the middle of such a crowd.

"It's best if you take it for now." She told her, handing Hanji the reins.

Hanji's face brightened considerably but she held back the scream of excitement as she took the horse. "Toshiro is officially my new favorite." She smiled.

"Shitty glasses, what are you smiling about?" Levi asked as he joined in.

"Nobody died in vain today, Levi." She replied, pulling the horse forward.

Levi glanced at the cloaked figure that was bound on Frost's back. If you knew him well enough you could see the tiniest spark of relief flash across his face. "Where's Hitsugaya?" He asked quietly.

"He's being taken care of by a doctor. He was wounded pretty badly." Ichigo answered. "We did what we could to help him but we're not the best medics around."

"As long as he's still breathing, that's all that really matters." Levi nodded. "You three did well. Though it was stupid of you to risk your lives going back in there like that, especially when we were on orders to retreat."

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and glanced over towards Rangiku who, suprisingly, wasn't there. At some point in time Rangiku had slipped away, most likely to where the doctor was treating Toshiro.

"Let's go, Kurosaki. They'll meet back up with us later." Levi ordered, turning his horse back around and moving up to where Erwin was waiting.

* * *

**Constructive criticism welcome. Actually, any criticism at all really. **

**Thanks guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

**After losing it twice, I present Chapter 3~**

* * *

There was a celebration at HQ later that evening. Erwin broke the news of the titans capture with a few barrels of vine.

Everyone was a little tipsy that evening as even the older soldiers allowed the younger ones to drink, claiming they became adults once they had experienced their first real fight with the titans.

Ichigo drank alone in the corner. He felt a little homesick without Rangiku and Toshiro nearby. "God, he must've been lonely." Ichigo muttered into his drink.

He heard a chair scrape against the floor but didn't look up to see who it was.

"You're usually more lively than this. Not drunk enough to join the party? Or are you too drunk to move?" Levi asked the moping strawberry.

"Rangiku is usually the life of the party, but she hasn't come back yet." Ichigo answered, taking another sip of the vine.

"I apologize. I would have retrieved him from the forest if I had known he was still alive." Levi said quietly. "But getting Eren back was top priority. When I saw the others..." He paused and Ichigo caught a glimpse of the sadness those eyes held. "I had assumed the same had happened to him."

"He's tough. This isn't the first time he's had everyone worried for his life." Ichigo nodded. But he's stronger than he looks and many people seem to forget that."

"You speak like you've known him for a long time." Levi noted.

Ichigo chuckled. "Well I've known him long enough. Rangiku's known him for longer though."

"Talking about me, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo's eyes widened at the voice and he spun around to see Toshiro and Rangiku standing there. Toshiro had a small smirk on his face and Rangiku was giggling with a slight blush on her face.

"Welcome back, Hitsugaya." Levi greeted before taking a small sip of his drink.

"Levi-Heicho." Toshiro nodded. "My condolences." He said with a small bow.

Levi simply nodded in acknowledgement.

The squad had been close. He could tell the way Levi looked at them differently than himself and the other soldiers. They had worked together often and became even closer during that month training Eren. Now that they were gone Toshiro swore the Corporal's eyes looked a little heavier.

"You've been here for less than ten minutes and Rangiku is already half-drunk." Ichigo laughed.

"That's nothing." Toshiro sighed. "Not only does she get herself drunk, she also forced me to down two glasses myself. Give it a few minutes and I'll be as tipsy as everyone else in the room."

Ichigo's eyes looked like they would pop out of his head as he howled with laughter.

"Taichouuuu! Have another with me!" Rangiku called over to him as she chugged her 6th cup.

"I'm going to bed before she forces anymore alcohol into my system." Toshiro said as he stood up. "Oh, and Kurosaki?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep an eye on them." He said before leaving the dining hall.

Toshiro flinched when he closed the door, having agitated his wound slightly. It didn't hurt as much as before now that he had painkillers and vine in his system. The doctor who had helped them knew what he was doing. It was a blessing and a curse. The doctor had looked suspiciously at the healed organs that should have been pierced as well with the wound. Matsumoto noticed this and had used the kikanshinki on him before they left.

The small captain continued up the stairs, heading towards the roof of the castle. One he reached it he was surprised to see he wasn't the only one there.

"What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be down celebrating?" Toshiro asked.

Armin spun around with a gasp. "Hitsugaya? I thought you were still recovering?"

"Well I'm obviously feeling better now. How is Jaeger doing?" He asked as he moved to stand by the blonde.

"He's still resting. Mikasa is staying with him." Armin explained. "Though I do have something to ask you." He said quietly.

Toshiro looked at him, slightly surprised at the statement. Armin had never mustered up the courage to talk to him or the other two before. Even when he was training with Ichigo and Rangiku he seemed to be rather wary of the shinigami. Toshiro knew the boy was smart and he could obviously see there was something strange about them.

"Eren said that nobody was able to take the titan down, that they had all died. He said he had no choice but to transform and fight Annie. But he mentioned that when you were fighting you almost looked like you had a chance of winning. He said you moved like Levi-Heicho when you fought and that you moved so fast he couldn't even see you at one point." Armin told him.

"I have a lot of fighting experience though I may not seem like it." Toshiro explained. "I used to fight a lot before I joined the military."

"But it's not just that!" Armin interuppted. "Even Levi-Heicho couldn't take down Annie even with Mikasa's help. They couldn't even get her when they had her caught! How were you able to capture her on your own? That doesn't even seem possible unless... unless you aren't human!"

"Arlert, what exactly are you accusing me of?" Toshiro asked, feeling a little light headed. He had to end this soon before he wasn't able to think straight.

Armin seemed to shrink a little under the captains icy gaze. "Are you a titan-shifter too?" He asked, his voice a little quieter now.

"No." Toshiro answered. He sighed and ran his hand through his messy hair. "Let me explain something to you Arlert. When you are sent on a mission to retrieve something alive it makes fighting a lot harder. You have to make sure that in the fight your target doesn't get injured or even killed whether it's by you or your enemy. He also had Mikasa with him. While she's a capable fighter she's nowhere near Levi's level. Meaning he not only has to fight and watch his target but also lookout for her as well."  
Armin listened to every word, his courage dwindling away as Toshiro continued.

"When I was fighting her, it was only me. I didn't have to worry about saving someone or worry about getting in the way of someone else. I could fight to my full extent without worry. When Rangiku and Ichigo had arrived the titan was already at her limit and was trying to retreat." Toshiro leaned against the half-wall for support. "The three of us have worked together so often it was natural for us to fight together without hindering each other, something most new recruits lack. With that it was only easy for us to nab the titan as she was trying to escape the giant body."

Armin nodded slowly.

"So do you still think I am one of them? Even with all my wounds to show?" Toshiro asked.

Armin shook his head. "Sorry for accusing you, Hitsugaya. I guess it's just this whole situation with Annie that's got me so worked up."

"Betrayal is a hard thing to deal with." Toshiro nodded. "Go down and spend some time with your friends." He told the blonde. "Being up here alone won't help you with this."

Armin nodded and thanked Toshiro before running off. Toshiro heard Armin pause at the door and say something before heading down over the stairs. A few moments later the sound of footsteps reached his ears again, this time towards him.

"This place seems to be getting more and more popular by the day." Toshiro mumbled, leaning against the half-wall for support.

"That's quite the story you told Arlert there, Hitsugaya." Levi hummed, standing in front of him. "A little bird told me you'd be up here."

"Matsumoto."

"Got it in one, brat." Levi smirked as he took a step closer. "She also told me a few other things. As to what exactly I'll let you figure out on your own."

Toshiro's face flushed a little from a mix of alcohol, drugs, and the proximity of the Corporal in front of him. He could smell the vine off the heicho and knew his own probably smelled similar, though not as strong.

He didn't push away as Levi pulled him closer, or even when Levi pressed his chapped lips to the captain's own. Instead he kissed back, not thinking of the consequences it may bring tomorrow, he was too lost in the warm feeling it gave him.

Teeth scraped against his lower lip and the icy captain parted his lips, allowing Levi to slip in and invade his mouth. He allowed the corporal to ravish him, moaning softly at the feeling. Levi pulled back, letting the captain take in much needed air while he started to work on the captain's jaw and neck. He bit and sucked along the crook of the taicho's neck, tugging at the scarf that did nothing more than get in the way.

Toshiro ran his hands along Levi's front, loving how well toned his body was. If he was asked what he was most attracted to his answer would be a well toned body. Unless it was trying to maim him of course.

Matsumoto was the only one who knew about this, having caught the Taicho sneaking glances at her magazine from the living world. She had teased him for weeks but never told anyone, which he was very grateful for.

Levi pulled away and looked at his subordinate. "Are you even legal?" He asked. "I don't want to get in shit for touching a minor."

"I'm definitely more than legal." Toshiro scowled. "I'm probably older than you."

Levi nearly snorted at the comment. "I highly doubt it. I'm much older than I look." He said before attacking Toshiro's neck again.

"You're a mystery, Hitsugaya." He said between kisses. "No records, good fighting skills, and a pretty face. It's almost too good to be true. What are you, Hitsugaya?"

Toshiro let out a low chuckle. "Guess my age and I'll tell you everything."

Levi smirked. "Deal. I'm sure it won't be that hard."

"You only get one guess a day. For every time you get it wrong you have to tell me something about yourself."

Normally Toshiro would never take the risk of making such a deal, but the alcohol had taken a firm hold on his mind along with whatever painkillers he had been fed earlier.

"Easy enough. You're at least legal so I'll start there. 19?" He asked.

Toshiro shook his head before kissing the corporal again.

Levi growled and bit the offending lips playfully. "I'm 35. Still think you're older than me brat?"

"I should be the one calling you that then." Toshiro smirked. "So are we going to continue this or are we just going to suck each others face off all night."

"Only if you agree to my rules." Levi told him. "First rule: I top, always."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "Fine by me."

"Second rule: I'm the only one that gets to touch you. I don't like to share." Levi said, narrowing his eyes.

"What am I? Your boyfriend?" Toshiro snapped. "Besides, I'm not some whore that goes around sleeping with every guy that looks my way."

"Just a precaution in case this carries on longer than just tonight." Levi replied. "Third rule: No getting attached. I don't do love or any kind of sappy relationships."

Toshiro nodded. "I think I can agree to those rules."

"If that's the case we'll move to my chambers before someone happens to stumble upon our rooftop session." Levi said, stealing one last kiss before heading over to the staircase.

**-LINEBREAK-**

The next morning Levi awoke in bed alone, which wasn't unusual considering he never let anyone sleep in his bed.

What was unusual was the slight hangover he was suffering from and the marks that had been left all over his back and neck.  
He let his head drop into his hands and groaned as he remembered the night before.

After a rough mission it wasn't strange for the corporal to seek out a distraction, especially when it came to the loss of close teammates. The first few years he would go to Erwin to take his mind off things. The commander understood and even welcomed the distraction.

But the man had changed since then and Levi stopped going to him. Instead he threw himself into his training or cleaning any time he needed to busy his mind.

He had slept with a few others since then, but only after he deemed them clean enough to match his standards. And none of them were military men he would have to face everyday either.

Toshiro was different though. When Erwin had told him that he had a good candidate for his special operations squad he thought it would be some cocky soldier that liked to flaunt around non-existant skill. Erwin had chuckled at that and simply said to trust him.

When the brat did show up Levi was beginning to wonder how sane Erwin was. But the boy was a mystery. He was simply listed as a refugee from Shiganshina with no age or background information. Most of the other recruits only either knew him as 'Snowball' or 'Shorty'. Eld had later told him that Toshiro liked to keep to himself and didn't like any attention drawn to him so he hardly spoke to anyone outside a mission.

Eld also noted that Toshiro had the strength of a titan. He easily slung supply bags like it weighed nothing while other burly men struggled to get them in carts alone. When someone commented on his strength he merely shrugged and said he was used to working hard.

Hanji on the other hand noticed something most other people wouldn't. She mentionned it to him the other week while he was overseeing the squads training.

"He doesn't make any noise y'know." Hanji commented.

"He's been a little more talkative lately. Mostly with Eld and Petra." Levi said, not looking away from the training session.

"No, that's not what I mean." Hanji sighed. "He doesn't make any noise when he walks. It's like walking next to a ghost. You can hear the boots tap very very lightly but only if you strain to hear it." She explained.

Levi just gave her a look. "You must be spending too much time with the titans. I think it's affecting your brain, shitty glasses."

Despite his disbelief he still found himself listening for Toshiro's footsteps.

Every tidbit of information he learned about the subordinate caused his curiosity to grow more and more. He soon realized Erwin didn't put him in the squad just because he was a good soldier. He put him in there so he could figure out the mystery that was Toshiro Hitsugaya.

It soon became an obsession, and Levi looked for every excuse to make the boy work. To try and set him over the edge so he would burst out in rage and spill his secrets.

But the boy never cracked. He remained calm even when Levi told him to scrub out the horse' trough or dust all the highest shelves.

Levi could tell he was irritated by the way he gripped the duster 'till his knuckles turned white, or the way his lips pressed into a thin line when he had to clean the stables alone.

Levi finished dressing himself and brushed the non-existant dirt off his shoulder. He had to stop thinking about the brat if he wanted to get anything done today.

Toshiro would be with them today when they went to go face Annie. Eren wasn't allowed to come nor any other new recruits. It was simply Erwin, Hanji, Toshiro, and Levi.

Many people assumed Annie was being held by Hanji's lab but she was really being kept in an old, underground dungeon that only the higher-ups knew about. She would be moved everyday with only trusted members of the survey corps guarding her cell.

By the time Levi and Erwin arrived Hanji was already poking around at Annie's body, examining the wounds on the female titan-shifter. Toshiro was watching from the sidelines, following Hanji's instructions if she called to him.

"Has she said anything yet?" Erwin asked.

"I haven't even begun questioning yet." Hanji smiled. "I was waiting for you two to get here."

"That's the most restraint I've seen in years." Levi drawled, glancing over at Toshiro.

The icy captain gave a tiny smirk at the comment but quickly erased it as Hanji called out to him yet again.

"So Miss Leonhart is it?" Erwin started, approaching the blonde. "Are you prepared to answer our questions or are we going to have to injure you further?"

Annie just stared at the commander with dead eyes.

She was missing both hands at the wrist and both legs just past the knee. The stumps were a disgusting shade of black and purple, while what was left was bound tightly so she had no ability to move.

"Maybe I'll cut out the monsters eyes." Levi said, taking out a blade and moving towards her. "After all, the bitch can grow them back right?"

A soft chuckle filled the room and soon turned into a hollow laugh that spilled from Annie's mouth.

"You're so concerned about getting information from me while a real monster is lurking out there." She chuckled, her speech slightly muffled from the strap keeping her from biting her tongue.

"What kind of monster?" Erwin asked, curious.

Hanji stopped her examination to listen to the interrogation.

"I don't know. Maybe you can tell me. It was cold. Colder than any winter I've endured. Even it's eyes were bitter and frozen." Annie murmured.

"What did the monster look like?" Hanji asked, eyes wide with excitement.

"It was huge and white. Like a lizard with horns and wings and enough teeth to shred flesh like paper. It's breath froze the trees and darkened the sky."

Hanji seemed to be deep in thought, her hand resting on her chin. "I've read about something similar. I can't remember what they're called but the ones I was reading about only breathed fire..."

"Dragons." Toshiro supplied. "They're called dragons."

"Yes! Thats it!" Hanji exclaimed. "You must have seen a dragon! How exciting! That must've been the reason for the sn-"

"Dragons don't exist." Toshiro interrupted. "They're about as real as the unicorns on the back of the MP's jackets."  
Of course Toshiro knew that dragons did indeed exist. After all, he had one living in his head.

Erwin nodded. "They were told to be a myth, Hanji." He said, smiling a little at her devastated look. "But perhaps something similar has emerged. A new type of titan perhaps?" He offered.

Hanji's face brightened up again at the possibility. "A whole new type that thrives on the cold and releases a freezing wind instead of steam! I'll have to do some research on this."

"For now let's continue on with the questionning. Our friend seems to be flickering in and out of conciousness." Levi said, giving Annie a sharp kick in the gut.

Annie doubled over as much as the restraints allowed her but other than that, showed no indication of pain.

"We noticed while runing a background check that you came from the same village as Hoover and Braun." Erwin informed Annie, watching her carefully. He saw a brief flicker in her eyes and that was enough for him. "I wonder if they knew that you were a titan-shifter? Perhaps even feeding you information from the inside?"

No response.

Levi pulled out his knife again. "Should I take an eye out now? That should loosen her tongue."

Erwin waved his hand dismissively. "Hanji, check her."

Hanji nodded and examined the titan-shifter again.

"She's unconcious." She informed the group with a sigh. "She's probably still recovering her energy from the transformations yesterday. With no food or sunlight she's going to be weak for a while. That and her limbs are still trying to regenerate."

"Why can't they?" Erwin asked, moving to examine the stumps.

"I don't know." Hanji said as she showed him the wounds. "It's obviously trying. Every now and then it will grow warm for a bit and then stop. I think it's having problems trying to heal the frostbitten areas. As to why that is, I have no idea."

"The ice titan theory will have to be put into consideration then. Something attacked Leonhart and caused that snowstorm. But why?" Erwin thought aloud.

"Perhaps they're getting rid of a loose end. Leonhart failed her mission and now they're trying to dispose of her to cover their own tail." Levi offered. "Hitsugaya, you were there. Did you see anything strange in the forest?"

Toshiro shook his head. "I only caught up to her after the snow had passed. By that time she had already sustained several injuries to her titan body as well as her own. There had been slices in her neck as if someone were trying to cut her out but stopped halfway."

Levi's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened to the story. "And you're sure it wasn't Kurosaki or Matsumoto?"

"It isn't possible. They came from behind when they arrived. There would be no way they could attack Leonhart, go behind me and then catch up in time, let alone without me noticing they were there." Toshiro replied.

The room fell silent for a bit until Hanji broke the silence. "Well we're not going to get anywhere with her like this. I took all the blood we need so let's head back to the lab for now."

Toshiro nodded and followed her out.

"Hitsugaya!"

Levi watched as the small captain turned back around for a moment. "35." He said. There was no way the brat was older than he was.

Toshiro chuckled and shook his head.

Levi swore under his breath and swiftly left the room. As he brushed by Toshiro the small captain could just barely make out what he had said.

Apparently the corporal's favorite color was green.

* * *

**Five smooth years and now you start slipping up, Toshiro? Must be Matsumoto's bad influence.**

**Or maybe the influence Levi-heicho's body has on you hmm?**

**Toshiro (blushing) : Sh-shut up!"**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the reviews guys! Your support is what keeps me motivated the most! **

**3**

* * *

_Two weeks later..._

At HQ, several high ranking officers from the military police were standing guard as the Generalissimo spoke with Erwin.

There was one man there that caught Ichigo's attention. He was a tall man with kind brown eyes hidden behind thick rimmed glasses. His black hair was short and messy and his face had a fine coat of stubble along his chin.

"Do I know you?" Ichigo asked him. "You seem familiar."

The man smiled at him and shook his head. "I'm afraid not. My name is Aodh Ri if that helps."

Ichigo shook his head. "Nah, must be just my imagination. Name's Ichigo Kurosaki. Nice to meet ya." He smiled back.

Aodh nodded. "Pleasure." He said in a smooth voice. "I hear that the survey corps got a big catch on the latest expedition."

"It was surprising to find that the titan-shifter was apart of the military police. Of course, you guys were always a shady bunch."

Ichigo spun around to see Levi approaching them with Toshiro in tow.

Aodh simply continued to smile. "I assure you that were not all like that. After all, you have a titan-shifter of your own, do you not?"

"At least we were aware of our titan-shifter. I wonder how many more titans are lurking in your troupe?" Levi shot back. "Don't you have training to attend, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo nodded and scurried off after getting an icy glare from both captains.

"No more than yours." Aodh replied. "It's nice to see you again, Levi."

Levi told Toshiro to go on ahead with a small wave of his hand. The captain had been watching the exchange in interest and was a little disappointed to be shooed away so soon.

"I see you've managed to become a little friendlier since I had last seen you." Aodh chuckled. "It was hard to get you to even speak to me, or even Hanji when we were in training."

"I see you're still as nosy as ever. I'm surprised you didn't butt into the lab earlier to see what Hanji was up to." Levi said, his face still holding the same neutral expression.

"I'm afraid visiting Hanji will have to wait. Perhaps later when someone comes to relieve me of my post."

Levi nodded. "So have you finally managed to get a squad of your own? Or are you still doing the dirty work of those pigs you call your superiors?"

Aodh sighed. "Still as vulgar as ever. I have my own squad now. They're patrolling the town and outside the castle. I heard your squad took a harsh blow on the last trip as well."

Levi scowled. "All but two were lost. Nearly lost both of those brats too."

"It's not too late to transfer into the military police. I'm sure they would accept mankind's strongest without a second thought." Aodh suggested.

Levi shook his head. "I'm not going to venture into that web of corruption you pigs are tangled in."

The door opened and the Generalissimo stepped out, cutting the conversation short.

"I guess this is where I take my leave. Remember Levi, it's never too late to change your mind." He said, slipping Levi a small, folded slip of paper.

Levi watched as Aodh took his leave with the rest of the police. "What the fuck is this for?" He mumbled, unfolding the slip.

_167_

"What the hell is this supposed to mean?" He growled, pocketing the tiny slip.

The door opened again and Toshiro emerged along with Mike and Erwin. "We're going to take Hoover and Braun in for questioning tomorrow morning." Erwin informed him.

Levi raised a brow. "Why not now? Wouldn't it be easier to nab them during training?"

Erwin shook his head. "We don't want to cause a scene, especially since the Military police are still hanging around the area. Tomorrow morning they will be gone and we can bring them in without attracting too much attention."

"And Jaeger?" Levi asked.

"Permitted to remain in the survey corps, however he must still remain in the dungeons for another week." Erwin smiled.

"Hn." Levi nodded. "I'll go tell him the good news then."

"Of course." Erwin agreed. "Now, I do believe that I have some reports that need to be filled. So if you'll excuse me." He said before heading back into his office.

Toshiro turned to Levi. "I have to get back to the lab before Hanji decides I'm going to be her next experiment." He informed the corporal.

He was about to leave when Levi grabbed his arm and pulled him close.

"I'll meet you later tonight. Your room." Levi murmured in his ear before releasing him and heading in the opposite direction.

Levi decided he liked that shade of red on Toshiro's face.

**-LINE BREAK-**

Rangiku sighed as she sat next to Ichigo that night.

The two of them had been keeping an eye on Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir since the expedition. None of them showed any indication of wanting to try and retrieve Annie. Either that or they knew they were being watched.

Ymir didn't talk to Reiner or Bertolt at all. She merely hung around Krista who had seemingly nothing to do with any of this.

"Maybe they're not really in this together. Maybe someone else was feeding her information?" Rangiku murmured.

Ichigo shook his head. "No, they have to be in it together. From what I heard from Armin, it's likely Reiner was giving her information while in titan form by carving it into her hand." He replied in a hushed voice.

Their conversation was halted when a newcomer came and sat down across from them at their table.

"Mikasa!" Rangiku smiled. "All tired out from training today?"

Mikasa shook her head and cut straight to the chase. "Why do you address Hitsugaya as 'captain'? The three of you know more Japanese than my mother did. I'm beginning to think you're all planning something behind our backs."

Matsumoto glanced at Ichigo out of the corner of her eye and was relieved to see he managed to keep a neutral expression.

"It's just a nickname I came up with for him because he's so bossy all the time." Rangiku giggled, masking her surprise well. "We don't speak in Japanese often, it's just easier for us because that was the language we were raised with. My mother taught it to us when we were little in hopes it would keep the language alive. I'm sure your mother did the same with you."

Mikasa nodded. She didn't know much, only a few phrases and titles that her mother used when telling her old stories. "Then perhaps you can teach me then? I would also like to know the language that my mother was so fond of."

"Ah, maybe. I would have to speak with Taicho first. He would be able to teach you better than I would and if he agrees you might even have the three of us teaching you." Rangiku told her.

"Hey! Who said you could include me without asking! I can't teach people to save my life!" Ichigo protested.

"Don't mind him, he'll be a great teacher. I'll let you know tomorrow, okay?"

Mikasa nodded again and thanked Rangiku before leaving the table and going back to Armin. "They're both hiding something. I can tell." She told the blonde. "Rangiku can't do anything without informing Hitsugaya first."

"I've been looking around to see how many people speak other languages. There's a lot of people that know words and phrases, but only a few people in select groups speak fluently in a foriegn tongue. The wall church uses a different language during secret meetings. Hanji has an old book in her lab that uses the same one. She told me that if she showed the wall church guys they'd have it snatched away in an instant." Armin explained.

"Perhaps they are spies from another group that want to kidnap Eren." Mikasa offered. "That would explain why Hitsugaya managed to get into Levi's squad. Someone pulled some strings."

Armin shook his head. "I don't think so. If he wanted to kidnap Eren he would have had plenty of time to have done so by now. There are some people that don't belong to a group that know another language so we can't come to a conclusion from that alone. If you keep on accusing them we're not going to find out anything." He sighed.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I let it slip." She apologized.

Armin nodded. "It's okay, I did the same thing to Hitsugaya after the party. They probably all know I'm suspicious of them now. We'll just have to find a different way to figure out whats really going on."

The chatter around them died down as an officer ran into the room. "Is Levi-heicho here?" He asked.

"I haven't seen him since supper." Jean answered from a few tables over. "What's going on?"

"The female titan has escaped! If you see anything let us know right away! I have to find heicho!" He said hurriedly before running out the door again.

The room exploded with chatter. Some people even left to go see if they could spot anything outside.

Ichigo and Rangiku left as well. "We have to let taicho know!" Rangiku said as she sprinted down the hall with the substitute.

"I'll go get him, you keep an eye on Reiner and Bertolt. The two scattered when that guy left." Ichigo told her. "I've been following them all week. It'll be less conspicuous if you were to tail them."

Ichigo didn't bother to check if she listened or not. He was hopping up stairs two at a time cursing his inability to use shunpo with so many witnesses about.

He let out another string of profanities when he found the roof to be empty. "He better be in his damn room." Ichigo grumbled, leaping down over the staircase.

The substitute reached the room door in a little under five minutes.

The door was locked but that wasn't going to stop Ichigo who raised a leg and kicked the door open, snapping off the lock with a loud bang. "Oi, Toshiro! Annie has escap-"

He stopped dead in his tracks while his brain processed the scene in front of him.

There was the little, snowy captain (that most shinigami viewed as an innocent little brother) on top of mankind's strongest soldier. The captain was straddling the corporal, his head thrown back as he rode out his orgasm while Levi seemed to have just reached his, letting out the most senual moan Ichigo had ever heard.

"-ed." Ichigo finished, his face as red as a tomato.

The temperature dropped drastically as Toshiro mustered up enough energy to glare at Ichigo. Apparently Levi didn't notice as he glared holes into the intruder.

"Have you ever heard of knocking, Kurosaki?" Levi hissed. "Get out!" He snarled, his face still flushed from the earlier activity.

Ichigo wasted no time escaping from the glares that looked to burn and freeze him to death at the same time. He closed the door behind him just in time for the tip of a knife to greet him through the door, stopping just before his face with a loud 'THUNK'.

"Well I fucked up." Ichigo muttered, face still red. "I wonder what Rangiku would say about this?" He thought aloud as a wicked grin formed.

It was another few minutes before the two emerged in full uniform with looks strong enough to kill.

Ichigo shuddered and backed up a few steps. "They're looking for you, Heicho. The female titan-"

"Escaped. So I heard when you so rudely interrupted." Levi growled. "You'll be paying for this tomorrow, Kurosaki." The corporal promised him as he passed.

"How was I supposed to know you were having sex with the guy?" Ichigo whined once Levi was out of earshot.

"You could have knocked, or you know, checked like a good shinigami." Toshiro said, his voice dripping with irritation. "The locked door was a good hint."

He mentally cursed at the substitute. Now he felt filthy, had no time to take a shower and probably reeked too. Toshiro just hoped that Mike wouldn't be down in the dungeon.

"I'm sorry okay!?" Ichigo snapped. "I got Rangiku following Reiner and Bertolt. You can yell at me all you want later."

"Tch." Toshiro pulled his scarf a little tighter and walked down the hall in the same direction Levi had gone. "I want you to go search for Leonhart. I'm going to see if I can track whoever it was that released her."

Ichigo nodded and ran ahead, turning around as he reached the end of the hall. "Nice limp by the way!" He called out before leaping down the stairs.

**-LINE BREAK-**

Toshiro must have the worst of luck because apparently Mike was down in the dungeon. The man's nose wrinkled as Toshiro entered the cell, though no one took any notice.

Erwin was also present along with Hanji and Levi. "Both guards were killed along with the two others that were on the way to relieve them of their post." Erwin informed them. "The culprit would have gotten away clean if it weren't for the fact that one of the Generalissimo's men had seen someone fleeing the building."

"How do we know it wasn't him?" Levi asked.

"He has no trace of blood on him at all, and has no blades that could have caused these wounds. We still have him in questionning but so far he remains innocent." Erwin said.

"Aside from the guards we were the only ones that knew of Leonharts location." Hanji told them. "And as much as I'd like to trust you, Toshiro, where were you between the time of 9:23 to 10:10?"

"He was with me." Levi answered before Toshiro could say anything.

"So I can tell." Mike muttered. "There's no denying it, the boy reeks of your scent."

Levi sent a glare towards the man while Erwin and Hanji snickered.

"Well, now that that has been cleared up." Erwin coughed, smirk still in place. "I've sent several officers to patrol the area as well as any possible hiding places. If she has escaped on her own there's no way she could have gotten far on foot."

"But the cell was broken from the outside. There's no way she did it alone." Hanji pointed out.

Erwin nodded. "I know, but we still must consider the possibility. All of our officers were accounted for according to Mike. The Military Police are conducting their own investigation." He explained.

"I'm assuming they're not co-operating?" Toshiro asked.

Erwin sighed. "They refuse to believe that one of their members would cause this mess, despite Leonhart being one of them before."

"Maybe it was the ice titan?" Hanji pipped up.

Levi rolled his eyes. "I'm sure we would have noticed the snow."

"Perhaps what had freed her wasn't human." Erwin suggested. "A report had come in about strange disappearances in the smaller villages as of late. Apparently there is a monster lurking in the area that has been snatching up residents and carrying them off under the cover of darkness."

"A monster? It's probably a wild dog that got too hungry." Levi scoffed. "The villagers will believe anything."

"Apparently they all believe the same thing. A large monster with a white face." Erwin told him. "The strangest thing is that they all say that it has a perfectly round hole through it's body."

Toshiro's breath hitched and he choked on his spit, sending him into a coughing fit.

Hanji pat his back to try and help him. "You okay there, Toshiro?"

Toshiro nodded between coughs, his mind still wrapping around the fact that a hollow had appeared in this world. They would be in big trouble if it turned out to be more than just one.

"Hanji and I will continue to investigate the area. I want Mike, Hitsugaya, and you to continue the search for Leonhart." Erwin ordered. "Mike can continue to search here. I want you and Hitsugaya to search Stohess."

"That's where the underground city is located." Levi nodded.

"Correct. She was stationed there with her squad so she likely knows about the tunnels." Erwin said.

"Well we better get a move on if we want to catch that bitch." Levi sighed, motionning for Toshiro to follow.

"And Levi." Erwin called out.

Levi glanced back over his shoulder.

"Don't let Hitsugaya distract you too much." He smirked.

Levi scowled and stormed out with a blushing Toshiro in tow.

"Hanji's not going to let that go for weeks I hope you know." Levi said as he snatched up Noir's gear.

The big black horse snorted as Levi led him out, Frost following not too far behind with Toshiro. They maintained a fast pace on their trip to Stohess. If they were lucky they would reach it before the sun rose.

Levi rode by Toshiro's side, sneaking glances at the taicho every now and then.

He still had his guess left to use for the day. He had already guessed all the ages between 19 and 35 and was still having a hard time believing Toshiro wasn't any of those ages.

While he didn't have the answer figured out yet it didn't mean he didn't learn anything about the white haired mystery. Over the past two weeks Levi had kept an eye on him, along with some help from Hanji.

They had learned that Toshiro knew many languages, having caught this when he was browsing Hanji's vast collection of old books. He hadn't realized that when Hanji said she had 'read' the books she only meant that she flicked through the pages in case there was English present. Needless to say, she now had him reading and translating the entire collection.

Toshiro was also impeccably neat, keeping all his work as tidy and organized as his writing. Once Levi learned of this trait he started getting Toshiro to help with his paperwork.

But Levi also learned of the smaller things.

He learned that green tea was Toshiro's favorite, or that his skin was alway cold to the touch. Levi also found out the cold soldier loved to take naps during his free time when no one was looking, and that the boy hardly ate enough during meals. He learned that the smaller loved to be dominated, loved the bites the corporal left on him. Levi was often able to render the taicho to a moaning mess in just a few minutes of action.

He was starting to get attached to the brat and he knew it. He was dancing on the line he had told the other not to cross and was loving every minute of it. It was like a drug he just couldn't get enough of.

"Is there something on my face?" Toshiro asked, noticing the glances.

"No, but I'm sure there's something on your neck." Levi smirked.

"Ha ha. You should become a comedian." Toshiro drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Despite the embarrassing marks, Toshiro loved the corporals night time visits. Sex was a great stress reliever and Toshiro found himself a little more relaxed, though he often sported an odd limp the morning after. He had also managed to keep up to Levi's standard of cleanliness, which he wasn't far from to begin with, and often found himself having tea with the corporal in his room as Levi claimed it was cleaner than the dining hall.

Helping Hanji down in her lab was also a nice change. He was able to spend most of the day reading books which he normally wouldn't have time to do back home.

Speaking of home, they hadn't heard from Urahara yet. He could only hope that the man could figure out a way to get them back before too long.

The possibility of hollows was also a threat as well. If they were coming form Hueco Mundo and forcing their way in, they could cause permanent damage to the dimensional wall. If they were to break completely it would mean the destruction of one or both worlds.

"I make a better artist it seems according to the beautiful display on your skin." Levi replied before riding on ahead, forcing Toshiro to speed up as well.

They could see the entrance to Stohess in the distance along with the rainbow sky of the rising sun.

_'Thank god. My ass is about ready to fall off.'_ Toshiro thought.

**_'You have no one to blame but yourself.'_** Hyorinmaru replied, still somewhat irritated at the amount of information his wielder had revealed unknowingly.

'_And Levi._' Toshiro added, cutting off his internal conversation as they entered the town.

**-LINEBREAK-**

"Soul society is in a state of panic. We have to get Ichigo back as soon as possible!" Rukia shouted over the phone.

Urahara's expression darkened at the news. "We're still working on the gate to get them back. This wall is extremely unstable. Chances are it's a world on the verge of destruction and one wrong move could wipe Ichigo, as well as the other two, from existence."

"We still haven't found any trace of Aizen. We have Neliel scouting Hueco mundo as well." Rukia informed him.  
"So long as he doesn't discover this world we're fine. If he does then that means he can recover his power in a matter or days." Urahara said. "Though I fear that he may already be a few steps ahead of us."

* * *

**Yeah hollows!**

**Just a quick question, do you guys want any other characters to make an appearance in the SNK world?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait guys. Here's chapter 5.**

* * *

"Oi, Rangiku!"

The strawberry blonde nearly jumped out of her skin as Ichigo appeared behind her. "Don't scare me like that! Besides, you're giving away my posistion!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes at the lieutenant. "You're fine Rangiku, besides I'm pretty sure they already know you're there. They both keep glancing this way."

"Ugh, that's not the point." Rangiku pouted. "They only think someone is following them. They don't know for sure where, or who I am. Well, up until now anyways."

"Either way, they're not going to do anything while they know they're being watched."Ichigo pointed out. "But boy, do I have juicy gossip for you."

"Eh? What kind of gossip?"

"Let's just say that the position I found Toshiro in could have been pulled straight from a porn video." Ichigo's cheeks reddened a little from the statement.

"Let me guess, he was with Levi-heicho?" Rangiku said with a smirk.

"WHAT? HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?"

"Well once you know a person well enough you can tell these kind of things. Who do you think sent the heicho up there in the first place? He's just what Taicho likes."

"I should have known." Ichigo sighed. "I'm always the last to hear about anything. Why can't I be first for once?"

"It's not my fault you're completely oblivious. How long did it take you to get together with Rukia again?"

"Fuck you. It's not totally my fault either. You could hardly speak to the woman without her brother breathing down your neck."

"I wasn't the only one either. Hanji was the one that suggested it." Rangiku shrugged.

"That crazy woman? I don't belie- wait... do you hear that?" Ichigo paused.

Reiner and Bertholt seemed to have heard it as well since they darted off towards it.

"It's sounds like someone's screaming." Rangiku nodded as they followed the titan-shifters.

They reached the source of the noise within minutes with Reiner and Bertholt reaching it mere seconds before the shinigami. Reiner was already asking the screamer what was going on.

The soldier was on the ground, writhing in pain, his voice already going hoarse from the screaming. He couldn't even form a coherent response to Reiner. His partner was calling his name from the side frantically.

"I'll go get help. You stay here and make sure he's okay." Reiner told his partner.

"Get Hanji. She'll know what to do!"

Reiner nodded and ran off with Bertholt in tow.

"Has this happened before?" Ichigo asked as he moved to examine the one on the ground.

"No. I've never seen anything like this happen. Milo and I were searching for the prisoner when he suddenly dropped to the ground and started screaming."

"Did anything else happen? Any strange behavior before this?"

The man was silent for a while but then nodded slowly. "There was something...I don't know. He started to mutter things. Strange things under his breath. Shi...shinigami?" He said uncertainly.

Ichigo's eyes widened and he cast a worried look towards Rangiku. Milo was still writing on the ground.

"He said something about needing to find them. That was right before he collapsed."

Ichigo looked back at Milo who had since stopped screaming. He was staring straight up at Ichigo with frightened eyes.

"Help me..." He whispered to the substitute before falling unconscious.

Ichigo swore and checked Milo's vitals again.

There was no pulse.

"Shit, Rangiku! His pulse has stopped." He cried out, moving in position to perform CPR.

"Ichigo... do you feel that?" Rangiku whispered.

Ichigo paused at the dark feeling emanating from Milo's body. "No..." He murmured. "NO!" He screamed as Milo's eyes snapped open, now a menacing yellow.

The sclera stained black as a grin formed on Milo's face. White gunk began to leak from all the pores, covering his face as his body shook, throwing Ichigo off.

Hanji arrived with Reiner and Bertholt, having finally caught up.

"Don't get any closer!" Ichigo warned, retreating back to where Rangiku was.

"Yordevitch! What's going on?" Hanji pulled the soldier away from the corpse. Tolsen was too shaken up to reply.

The black seeped through his skin until his entire body was coated in the dark color. His body increased in size as well, swelling up to five times his original size. Thick plates of white formed on his limbs, covering the ends in long blades.

"Is it another titan shifter?" Hanji asked herself shakily. Normally she'd be excited about this kind of discovery but this thing she was staring at gave of a horrible that left her shaking in her boots.

"That's no titan." Ichigo said, calling Zangestu out. Toshiro would just have to yell at him for it later. No one had any of their gear with them so it was his only option left. Hopefully no one would notice the sword appearing from thin air.

He could see that Rangiku had the same idea and now wielded Haineko in her hand.

Milo towered over them, nearly as tall as a 10 meter class titan. The blades on his hands and feet dug into the ground as he raised himself up on all four points and let out a screeching roar.

A blast of reiatsu hit them, forcing all but the shinigami to their knees.

"W-what is that thing?" Hanji managed to get out. "You better be giving me some answers, Kurosaki! You too Matsumoto!"

"We'll explain later, right now you guys need to get out of here!" Ichigo yelled out. "I'll draw him further away from HQ."

Milo seemed to have gotten his bearings and was now charging towards the shinigami. Steam poured from his joints in green puffs. He charged straight past Hanji and the others, showing no interest in them.

"He's gaining on us. I'll cast a kido to stall him and you go in for the attack." Rangiku ordered Ichigo before turning around and raising her arms. "Bakudo number nine: Geki!"

The hollow retaliated with a blast of steam, the concentrated reiatsu cloud blocking the Kido and in extension, Rangiku's vision. It burned through her sleeve where a small bit of it had touched.

"That steam is acidic! Watch out Ichigo!"

Ichigo launched a getsuga through the green steam, grinning when he heard a pained roar. "Gotcha!"

He didn't expect the hollow to launch the severed limb at him, however.

It flew just inches past his face in the direction of HQ, slicing a few members that had gathered to watch despite Hanji's protests. The members dropped dead from a combination of being cut clean through and the deadly coating the blade had.

Ichigo swore as he watched Erwin approach the scene warily with Mike in tow. They were now talking to Hanji who still hadn't returned to HQ but didn't draw any closer to the battle either. They all kept a defensive stance, just in case.

"We have to take care of this fast." Ichigo said, launching another few attacks at the hollow.

"Unare, Haineko!" Rangiku sent the wave of ash towards the hollow, plugging any vents the steam was coming from. The rest of the ash immobilized the hollow, giving Ichigo the perfect moment to strike.

The substitute launched himself at the hollow upon seeing the opening. The hollow blasted another round of steam from it's mouth, the only place Rangiku didn't seal. They could hear a strangled cry from below and noticed Tolsen had tried to help with the fight as well. The solder's skin melted away from the acid and Ichigo knew he had to finish this now. The substitute continued on despite the burning all around him and launched a final getsuga at Milo.

The mask cracked and Milo's face showed through for a moment, his eyes transmitting the unspoken message to Ichigo.

Ichigo sadly nodded at Milo. "It's okay, it wasn't your fault."

Rangiku called back Haineko as she watched the exchange. She knew her taicho would be saddened by the news. Despite how it seemed, he still cared for these soldiers as much as his own.

Rangiku approached Erwin and the group and held up her kikanshinki. "Could you just look at this for a moment please?" She asked, pressing the button.

Erwin just looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What am I looking at exactly?" He asked her.

Rangiku groaned and threw the device away. "It's outta fuel. We're gonna have to deal with this one head on Ichigo."

"Would you explain just what the hell is going on now?" Hanji asked, watching as Mike supervised the collection of the dead.

"It's a long story." Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

Erwin did not look amused. "I'm sure we have more than enough time. To my office. Now." He ordered.

Ichigo and Rangiku saluted half-heartily. "Yes sir!"

**-linebreak-**

Stohess wasn't very lively since it was still early, which Levi was silently thankful for as it made searching for Leonhart much easier.

He sent Toshiro to search the city above while he went underground. He had been there plenty of times before and knew the area better than Toshiro would. The tunnels were as dark and grimy as ever with the only sources of light coming either from the grates above or from the torch in his hand.

He didn't hear much in the tunnels save for his echoing footsteps and the muted sounds of the people in the street above. His own breathing even seemed to be too loud for him as he searched the deserted tunnels. Further down would be a different story with all the thugs criminals lurking about. Not that they needed to hide with the amount of corruption in the MP these days.

He went down another level after about an hour of fruitless searching. The sounds people scuttling about further down the tunnel reached his ears and he began to gravitate towards it.

There was a set of footsteps heading towards him though. He couldn't see anything due to the low light levels in the tunnel. He held the torch up higher a the footsteps drew near, his hand hovering by his gear just in case.

"Ah, Levi, I'm glad I found you here."

Levi nearly jumped in surprise at the voice. "Aodh? What the hell are you doing down here?"

"Doing my rounds of Stohess. My squad was stationed here and I figured it would be best to take the underground myself as they are still new to the area."

"I wasn't aware that the MP even took their precious time to come down here." Levi scoffed.

"Well I also had a side agenda to attend to as well." Aodh smiled. "Tell me Levi, have you tried the number I gave you?"

"I don't even know what the hell it's even for. So no, I haven't."

Aodh just hummed in amusement. "It won't matter soon enough. I figured plan B would go a lot faster. Is Hitsugaya with you? I know you didn't come here alone."

Levi narrowed his eyes. There was something Aodh was hiding and he didn't like it one bit. "Maybe, maybe not. Why does it matter to you?"

The scuttling feet he heard before were getting closer. Probably some thugs thinking they could catch the soldiers off guard during their conversation.

"I just wanted to know how much of a chance you had to survive, that's all." Aodh said before snapping his fingers.

More scuttling sounds surrounded him from behind just as the ones in front reached the circle of light. He was completely surrounded.

"If you manage to live through this try that number for your next guess. You might actually get somewhere then."

"What the hell is this Aodh!? This isn't funny!" Levi yelled at the smiling man.

The things stepped closer, revealing themselves to be small lion sized hollows of different kinds that were currently snarling at Levi.

"Oh, but it is. I'm sure Leonhart will enjoy seeing humanity's strongest fall to the dogs, not that she's anywhere close enough to enjoy it."

"They don't look like fucking dogs to me." Levi snarled, readying his blade.

With one hand still holding his only source of light he was at a great disadvantage.

Aodh continued on, ignoring Levi. "I'm glad my little gamble turned in my favor. It would be a pain to send the hollows after you with three shinigami around to save the day. Though I'm sure Milo did a great job despite there being two against him. Chances are your number of fatalities will have increased. He was my fail-safe you see. But I really must be going now. I have to say, it was nice working with you Captain Levi."

With that he snapped his fingers again, springing all the hollows into motion.

They lunged at Levi as Aodh made his escape, attacking the heicho with bared fangs and claws.

Levi spun with the blade in hand, forcing them back away from the blade and giving Levi a chance to slip past. He wasted no time in heading to the higher level where the lighting was good enough for him to pull the other blade. The hollows snapped at his heels as they caught up to him, one of them just barely grazing his side.

He spun around again, stabbing the hollow through the skull and shattering it's boney mask. He watched as it seemed to explode into a million bits before fading away entirely. There were only five more left now, each watching him warily. One of them flicked out a forked tongue as what seemed to be venom dripped from it's fanged maw.

Another that had been inching along his left lunged at him, forcing the heicho to dodge and counter with a slash down it's gut. The hollow screeched in pain but didn't seem hindered from the wound.

Pain flashed through him as the Hyena- like hollow sunk it's teeth into his leg, dragging him to the ground. He stabbed it's face just as the other hollows pounced, tearing into his flesh.

'The masks are their weak point!' He thought as he watched the one he stabbed disappear.

He didn't have long to dwell on the fact as he still had two hollows mauling his limbs while the lizard looking one was getting ready to strike. Levi struggled to get his arm and leg back when he felt the third one latch onto his remaining arm.

'_Fuck. That thing is going to kill me._' He thought bitterly as he stared into the yellow eyes of the reptilian hollow. _' So this is how humanity's strongest will die.'_

He felt the hollows tug at his limbs, giving the venomous hollow clear access to his front. The hollow seemed to be grinning at him as it crouched down, getting ready to spring.

Levi closed his eyes and lowered his head, protecting his neck as he waited for the final blow.

But it never came.

Instead, an icy breeze blew through the tunnel and he felt something brush past the top of his head. He opened his eyes just in time to see a large dragon made of ice plow into the hollow, killing it instantly.

"Matsumoto better still have some juice left in that Kikanshinki of hers."

The rest of the hollows let go of Levi, turning bigger threat that had appeared.

"Hitsugaya?" Levi asked, seeing the white hair out of the corner of his vision.

"Fortunately for you." Toshiro replied, blasting away another hollow with ease. He slashed again with his zanpakuto, taking out the rest of the hollows with another dragon.

"I knew something was off with you." Levi muttered. "We're going to have a nice long chat when I regain the use of my limbs." He said, weakly pushing himself against a wall.

"Something is off with a lot of things in this world. Especially you friend I saw exiting the underground earlier."

"He was the one that helped Leonhart and sent those things after me." Levi hissed.

Toshiro sheathed Hyorinmaru and knelt beside the heicho and began to heal what he could. "Those things were called hollows. You need to destroy the mask to kill them."

"Something like a titan then? What about you?" Levi asked, eyeing the green glow coming from the taicho's hands. "You're not human." He stated, narrowing his eyes.

"Haven't been for a long time." Toshiro replied. "But you can rest assured that I'm not a titan."

"So that wasn't just a ridiculous number, you are 167 years old. Though it is ridiculously old."

"Hn, so he told you then. He must have been watching us the entire time. I bet he knew where I was the moment I entered this world."  
Levi raised a brow. "You keep saying this world. Where did you come from originally?"

Toshiro moved to the other side and began healing the rest of his wounds. "A world that runs parallel to this one. Normally the worlds don't interact at all but there was a breach and it pulled me in."

"Are there titans in this world of yours?" Levi asked.

"None. Instead have hollows but they don't interfere with the living." He explained.

There was a moment of silence until Toshiro finished and helped Levi up. The heicho leaned agaisnt the captain for support, still a little sore from the attack.

"It's the best I can do. I'm not the best medic." Toshiro told him as they left the underground.

"It's better than having to lay in bed with bandages for weeks." Levi said, inwardly cringing as the light revealed how filthy he had gotten from the attack. "You said the hollows don't interfere with the living, yet you look like you've fought them many times. Does that mean...?"

"I've been dead for a long time. I can explain more later, when there aren't many wandering ears around."  
It was then that Levi noticed the stares of the civilians who were finally up and about. This deep in the walls they didn't see many military personnel as tattered and bloody as he was.

"Our horses are just a few streets down. Leonhart isn't here."

Levi nodded. "We'll head back to HQ to see if they found anything."

Toshiro kept a close watch on their surroundings, making sure Aizen didn't come anywhere near them while they fetched their horses.

Levi pulled away from Toshiro and untied his horse from the post. Though injured he still gracefully swung up on the horse with ease that could only have been accomplished through much practice. Noir snorted and moved out into the middle of the road, Toshiro and Frost following just moments later.

Neither captain spoke during the trip through the town save for the passing greeting of the guards at the gate. It wasn't until an hour into the trip did they break the silence.

"Kurosaki and Matsumoto. They're like you aren't they?" Levi spoke up finally.

Toshiro glanced over at Levi and nodded. "They ended up here a few years after I came. Though back in my world I had only been missing for days. Different worlds have different time streams apparently."

"And what are you exactly? There are no wandering ears here, Ice dragon."

Toshiro rolled his eyes at the name. At least it was a better name than Shiro-chan. Not that he would ever let Levi hear that one.  
"We are Shinigami. To you humans we would be known as soul reapers or gods of death. Our job is to regulate the flow of souls between the living world and the afterlife." He explained.

Levi wasn't often surprised and tended to show that surprise even less, but as he continued to listen he could feel his face betraying him.

"Any soul with high enough spiritual power can become a shinigami. I was once a living human long ago. Kurosaki is still living actually, despite being a shinigami. He's a special case."

Levi's eyes met his own. "How did you die?" Levi asked, curious.

Toshiro's face darkened at the question and Levi realized the question was probably not the best to ask.

"Never ask a shinigami that question. Some memories are better left buried."

Levi nodded silently.

"Most souls don't remember their life before they died, only their name. However there are those souls that retain powerful memories from their life and those memories are often unpleasant."

After another uncomfortable silence Levi continued with his questions. "So the place you live in, it's different from the world of the living. Is it like the tales of the heavens where you want for nothing?"

"No. It's much like the world of the living. You have your rich and your poor. You can still get sick and die. It's like being reborn into a new life. Souls with little or no power have no hunger and can live their lives without the need for food."

Toshiro stopped for a moment, wondering if he should be even telling him all this. There was still a chance Matsumoto might have another use in her Kikanshinki. But what was the harm in telling Levi this anyways? If the hollows could be seen by everyone in this world then having the military informed would be advantageous. Besides, this wasn't his world. The secrecy rule was really unnecessary.

"There is something you must know. I didn't notice it before but I was able to sense him clearly when he was leaving the underground." Toshiro told Levi. "That man Aodh, isn't his true identity. His real name is Sosuke Aizen, former captain of the fifth squad of the shinigami. He is a powerful enemy and not someone you should fight. Ever."

"I'm guessing he's a traitor then. You did say former captain. Does this mean the death gods have a military force?"

Toshiro nodded. "The death gods are the military force. You can only become a shinigami after attending the academy. After that, you serve for life. Once you graduate you get divided into one of the 13 squads, much like with the different legions here."

"And what squad are you in?"

Toshiro smirked. "Tenth. I am the captain of he squad."

Levi nodded in understanding. "So that's why Matsumoto calls you captain."

"You know japanese?" Toshiro asked, surprised.

"No. Ackerman came to me with her suspicions along with Arlert. Erwin knows as well." Levi told him. "That and my squad has taken to calling me Heichou, despite it being a japanese title. I figured the word must have a similar meaning."

"And this is why we will never be qualified to join the Onmitsukido." Toshiro muttered under his breath.

**-linebreak-**

In Shiganshina dark clouds swirled overhead. At it's center lightning crackled with foreign energy as a small dark hole began to form.

Any titans around the area were becoming sluggish as the hole drained the very life from them in a slow steady stream.

A figure stood atop of wall Maria, examining the tear in the dimension."It seems like it's begun. It will only take another few months before this world finally falls."

Another figure sauntered over. "Don't worry. We'll have no trouble executing the plan. Now come along. We have shinigami to find."

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews guys. I always love to hear what you guys think.**

**3**

**Can you guys guess who the two new people are? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for all your reviews! **

**And no, there will not be a non-yaoi version of this. I happen to adore my Levi/Toshiro pairing. The reason I wrote it in the first place is because there were none there but I wanted one to exist. I'm hoping someone else will write one too so I can read it and gush over how cute they are together! :3**

**Anyways, enjoy~**

* * *

Eren dragged himself up the stairs for training, still very tired from only having a few hours of sleep the night before.

The recruits had been searching for hours trying to locate Annie but with no luck. There seemed to have been some commotion towards the end of the search but everyone that knew about it were all hush hush.

He had tried asking Hanji about it but she told him there wasn't anything to tell. The excitement on her face stated otherwise so he tried sticking around Erwin's office hoping to hear something.

That plan didn't go over to well and he soon found himself cleaning the stables while Mikasa was ordered to supervise. Armin joined them a little later and told them about the patrol duty they would be doing once they had finished training.

So here he was, heading towards an empty training field, with no squad to train with.

Regret bubbled up from inside and Eren found himself having to choke back a sob as he was reminded once again of those dead faces staring up at him.

"If only I had've fought... Then maybe..." He murmured to himself.

"Then maybe you would have died instead and humanities last hope would have vanished along with you."

"J-Jean?" Eren sputtered. "What are you doing here!?"

"Levi-heichou isn't back yet so they told me to come and get you for training. You're coming with us today." He snorted a little at Eren's face.

"Didn't think I'd catch you crying like a baby though."

"Shut it, Horseface!" Eren snarled, wiping the corners of his eyes much to Jean's amusement.

"We don't have all day Jaeger, there were titans spotted in Wall Rose and we need to get this training done as soon as possible."

"What!? When did you hear this?"

"Just a few minutes ago. The message only just came in." He explained. "Now let's get a move on!" Jean growled, giving Eren a shove to get his point across.

"I'm moving, Horseface! Don't get your panties in a knot!" Eren snapped.

"What did you just say!?"

Across the field, Armin and Mikasa let out a sigh at the bickering soldiers.

"We should have known better than to send Jean." Armin muttered.

**-LINEBREAK-**

_At HQ..._

"Where's Erwin?" Was he first question Levi had when they arrived HQ.

"He's up in his office with Hanji and Mike. I think he has a couple of new recruits with him as well." Moblit answered, glancing back up at the building. "There was an attack earlier that ended in a few casualties. Other than that, I don't know whats going on."

Levi nodded, thinking back to what Aodh- no- what Aizen had said.

"The sooner we get this over with the better." Toshiro sighed, having a feeling what happened was very similar to his own situation.

Levi took the lead, heading up to Erwin's office with a slight limp in his step. Toshiro followed close behind just in case. He didn't offer help as he knew Levi would never take it.

Levi didn't bother to knock as he entered Erwin's office. The commander showed no surprise at his presence but did make a small remark about the state of his uniform he had yet to change out of.

Toshiro followed behind and approached Rangiku. "I take it your kikanshinki is out of fuel as well." He stated, noticing Haineko and Zangetsu were still out.

"Ah, so you must've told him too then." Rangiku noted, seeing Hyourinmaru still strapped to her captain's back. "We told them as little as we could get away with, taicho. The only ones that know are in this room. Reiner and Bertholt don't know what we are, but promise not to say anything so long as we keep their secret too." She explained.

Erwin interrupted their conversation with a small cough. "Now that explanations are out of the way I would like to propose a new plan to retake wall Maria. With you three there would be no problem-"

"Yes there is." Toshiro cut him off. "Shinigami do not interfere with the affairs of the living. Humans are not even supposed to know of our existence. The only reason we have given you as much information as we did is because of an enemy too powerful for humans to handle."

"From what I heard, your people can't even contact you. They wouldn't notice if you were to help us, so what harm could come from it?" Erwin argued.

Toshiro did his best not to glare at the man. "Just as you have laws to abide to, so do we. We will not go breaking them for a task you can accomplish on your own. We will help, but only with what a normal humans strength can provide."

"Using your powers as a shinigami will save many lives."

"I am aware, but my answer still stands." Toshiro said with an air of finality.

"Will your answer still stand when another titan-shifter gets on your nerves as Leonhart did?" Erwin questioned.

Toshiro remained silent.

Levi decided it would be best to speak up at this point as the tension between the two was rising by the second. "It seems that there is another person we need to keep an eye on. Aodh tried to kill me this morning in the underground. It seems he is also the person responsible for the deaths of the guard and letting Leonhart free." He informed Erwin. "He's able to control these 'Hollows' that have been appearing."

Toshiro nodded. "Chances are, he's turning people into hollows as calling them in from our world would take far to much energy. If luck is on our side he will still have most of his seals in place and will be unable to fight us at full power."

"And what happens if they're not?" Hanji asked, having been recording everything from the conversation onto paper.

"The last time he was at full power normal humans would disintegrate from just standing next to him. Not even all the captains working together could take him down." Toshiro explained. "Granted, he had an army fighting against us as well, but it ultimately took all of Kurosaki's strength as well as several complex seals in order to subdue him. He has been declared as an immortal being."

"So Ichigo must be a captain then, right?" She asked. "He must have had an insane amount of power to go up against this guy."

Ichigo laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I'm just a substitute. That was a one time thing that involved me losing my powers for a while after that. Toshiro's the only captain here." He said, jabbing a thumb in the icy captain's direction.

"That's Hitsugaya-taicho to you Kurosaki."

Hanji's eyes brightened. "So that's why you were always doing so well! I mean, it looked like you had training before but I never imagined you were a captain!"

Levi noticed that Mike had slipped out of the meeting at some point during the discussion. Erwin hadn't said anything about the missing man so he assumed that it was either planned, or the commander was extremely distracted. He was about to ask what was going on when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.

"Erwin."

The blonde looked up.

"Why is there a cat outside your window?"

Everyone snapped their heads up at Levi's question with three of them letting out a noise of recognition.

Noticing this, Erwin opened the window and let the feline in.

"You! How did you get here!?" Ichigo asked, pointing accusingly at the black cat.

"Kurosaki, why are you talking to a cat?" Levi asked, eying the cat curiously.

The cat sauntered up to Levi and examined his injuries before turning to Toshiro. "You did a good job healing him. As expected of a prodigy." Yoruichi purred, smirking inwardly at the disbelieving faces of the other occupants in the room. Hanji seemed to be reaching towards the cat, a little drool forming at the corner of her mouth as she oogled the new specimen.

Yoruichi hopped up on Ichigo's shoulder and chuckled. "What the matter?" She asked Levi, "Cat got your tongue?"

Levi turned to Toshiro once his ability to talk returned to him. "You. Explain now."

Toshiro sighed and reluctantly introduced the cat. "This is Yoruichi. She's not actually a cat and, unless you have a spare set of clothes nearby, don't ask her to prove it."

"Aw, don't ruin my fun Toshiro!" Yoruichi pouted. "Rukia-chan is here too by the way. She's waiting outside."

"What! Why didn't you say so earlier!?" Ichigo yelled at the cat, bolting out the door with the feline still on his shoulder.

"I take it _Rukia-chan_ is another shinigami?" Erwin asked.

Rangiku nodded. "She's his wife. He's probably going to get an earful from her before he can get back up here." She giggled.

Erwin nodded. "Are there anymore shinigami that we should be aware of?" He asked.

Toshiro shook his head. "There shouldn't be aside from Aodh. Though his real name is Aizen, as I have told Levi. However, if there's a large number of shinigami starting to appear without them having intentionally come over, then we're in trouble."

"Have a room prepared for them. They'll stay with us for the time being. Right now we still don't know who we can trust." Erwin sighed. "I've sent Mike out south with some of the new recruits. I noticed you were curious as to where he went." He told Levi who nodded in response.

"There have been titans sighted within Wall Rose. The rest of the squads will be leaving after this meeting. Though I'm not sure if you should go out with your injuries, Levi. You haven't had any rest yet either. I want you to stay behind for now along with Hitsugaya and his...friends."

"Do you want me to do anything other than sitting on my ass and being useless?"

Erwin nodded. "Once you have rested I want you to patrol this area here along the wall. Some residents were noting that there were a few pieces falling off the wall. I want you to inpect the area for any sort of foul play. If there are any titans I need you to note their location and eliminate them if possible."

Levi nodded as his eyes followed Erwin's hands along the map he had laid on his desk.

It wasn't much longer before Ichigo came back up with Rukia following along behind him. He quickly got the introductions out of the way before informing Toshiro that they needed to have a private discussion.

Erwin and Levi reluctantly allowed them to leave while Hanji whined about not being able to listen in on such an informative conversation.

The shinigami filed out of the room with Toshiro stopping by the corporal and murmuring something inaudible to the rest of the room's occupants, unfortunately for Rangiku.

Erwin turned to Levi once the door was closed and the last shinigami had left.

"There is one more thing I would like to ask of you Levi." Erwin told the shorter male. "I want you to try and get Hitsugaya to teach you anything he knows. Out of all of us he trusts you the most. One might think he's starting to get attached to you." He chuckled.

"The chances of that happening are slim to none." Levi told the commander. "He won't teach me just because we fuck at night. You heard them, he's a captain. He's not going to let his secrets go that easily."

"Being in a foreign world for so long may have loosened his tongue." Erwin argued. "He's told us much more than he was originally willing to tell us. And to think, all it took was for you to win at a silly bet and a well placed monster attack."

"I wouldn't have won that bet if Aodh didn't want me to know." Levi pointed out. "For some reason that man wanted them to be exposed. He was the one that caused all the attacks."

"In any case, my order still remains." Erwin stated. "I want you to get him to teach you his way of fighting no matter what it takes. If it turns out that humans are indeed capable of such things it would be a huge step forward fo humanity."

Levi scowled. "Whatever you say commander. But when this bites us in the ass I will be putting all the blame on you."

Erwin smirked. "As expected."

The corporal turned to leave, but as his hand touched the knob Erwin called out once more.

"If they do turn out to be a threat to us Levi, you know what we must do."

Levi simply nodded in response.

With that, Erwin dismissed them and Levi found himself out in the hallway with a suprisingly silent Hanji.

"Is not being able to join in on their discussion bothering you that much?" Levi asked her finally, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"No. Not really." She sighed. "I'm just thinking about the wall and these titans. If the wall really was breached, and..." Hanji looked at him with a concerned expression on her face. "Levi, if it came down to it, would you really be able to follow through with Erwin's orders?" She asked him, her voice so quiet he almost didn't believe it was her.

He didn't answer her right away, still unsure of the answer himself.

He had no problem killing titans or the some of the scum that wandered inside the walls. But to kill one of his own, especially after he had lost so many would be something he would always struggle with. Despite having been given this order many times before he had not yet had to kill any of them. Having to execute the order would come with a load of emotional damage he wasn't sure he would be able to handle.

"I would." He managed out finally. "But I may not survive it myself." He admitted.

**-LINEBREAK-**

The shinigami all piled into Toshiro's room with the Icy captain setting up several kido to keep unwanted listeners from eavesdropping.

_"I take it that Ichigo has informed you of Aizen's presence."_

Yoruichi nodded at the taichou's statement._ "He was hoping it wouldn't have been the case, but he prepared for it nonetheless."_

_"For some reason he wanted the humans to discover our existence. I have no idea as to why since his cover was also blown. What could he possibly have to gain?"_

Yoruichi hummed as she thought about the situation._ "Perhaps to destroy the trust they previously had in you?"_

Toshiro shook his head._ "They didn't fully trust us in the first place."_

_"Maybe Aizen has finally gone completely insane. He could be doing it just to make things harder for us." Ichigo shrugged. "So did you guys come in here the same way we did?_" Ichigo asked.

Rukia nodded. _"But the tear in the wall is much larger than it was before you two left. Urahara was monitoring it's growth which so far had been a steady increase. Before we left however, the hole suddenly grew to nearly twice it's size with more and more energy being sucked into it."_

_"This is a dying world, and if we don't get out and seal it soon then we're all going to die with it._" Yoruichi explained.

Toshiro, having finished setting up the kido, joined in on the conversation again. _"There's no way Urahara sent you two here without a way for you to leave. And don't tell me you fell in, because there's no way I'll believe you're stupid enough for that."_

_"You don't miss a thing, do you?"_ Yoruichi chuckled._ "He has finally completed the gate for us to get home._"

_"There's a 'but' in there isn't there._" Rangiku sighed.

Yoruichi nodded.

_"The soutaichou has decided to seal Aizen in this world so that he will hopefully die with it."_ Rukia explained._ "But the seals on him are weakening without the proper reishi to maintain it. We can actively manipulate the different reishi of this world, but the kido cannot without modification."_

_"So we have to re-seal Aizen before we go home?"_ Ichigo asked.

_"Exactly."_ Yoruichi nodded._ "Urahara has estimated that you have approximately two months left in this world's time before the seals disappear completely. But given Aizen's intellect I say it's going to be more along the lines of a month. Rukia has all the information on the seals from Urahara."_

Rukia handed Toshiro a few rolls of paper she was instructed to pass onto him.  
_"It takes a considerable amount of power and skill to execute and there is no way for it to be practiced without killing someone. Luckily, the kido to seal the world is much easier to do, which is also included in those papers."_ The cat purred.

_"So the only viable candidates are yourself and I."_ Toshiro stated as he read the complex makeup of the seals.

_"You have more skill in kido than I."_ Yoruichi said. _"You've grown a lot in the past few years Hitsugaya-taichou."_

Toshiro nodded, knowing this was true. He had trained relentlessly after the war, realizing he relied far more on Hyourinmaru than he had originally thought. The loss of his trusted companion, even for that short amount of time, had opened his eyes to how weak he was without it.

**_'We have come a long way since then.'_** The dragon rumbled in his mind.

"_Alright! So we seal Aizen then go home!_" Ichigo grinned. _"Then we can be rid of the bastard for good!"_

Yoruichi glanced at Toshiro, as if she knew this was going to be a little more complicated than it seemed.

_"We still have to find him first."_ Toshiro sighed. _"Kurosaki, I want you and Kuchiki to scout out the towns with the most hollow sightings. I'll get the co-ordinates for you later. You might get your chance yet depending on how close the location is to the area we'll be scouting out this evening. Matsumoto will continue the search for Leonhart. I need to discuss things with Shihoin so you three are dismissed."_

They fled the room with a quick 'Hai'.

The room now empty, the taichou turned to the remaining cat.

_"You looked like you had something to say to me that you didn't want them to know about."_

Yoruichi double checked to make sure they had all indeed left before she spoke.

_"There's more to sealing the world than I had explained."_ She started. _"First of all, the sealing is only done on our home side of the hole but we can't seal the hole if there's something still attached to it. The seal would only last a minute before the connection to this world breaks it down again. So we have to cut the connection to this world first."_

"_Is that even possible?"_ Toshiro asked, curious to know if shinigami really had that kind of power.

_"It is, and it's quite simple actually as this is a dying world. It's much harder on a stable world, near impossible to tell you the truth. You see, when you cut the connection you're not only cutting it off from our world but also from all the other worlds out there."_ She explained. _"Imagine if you will a ball that is connected to a rope. At the end of that rope are the thousands of threads that it is composed of. All of these threads are connected in one big tangled mess that eventually leads to the other ropes and their respective balls. What you are doing is cutting that rope."_

The room fell silent as Toshiro's mind processed all this information.

That's when he realized why she wanted to speak to him alone. _"So you are telling me..."_  
Yoruichi nodded.

_"Someone is going to have to stay behind."_

* * *

**Sorry for the slow updates. I'll try and be a little faster (if I can).**


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